


Degrees of Separation

by Moon_Rose (Moonrose91)



Series: The Web of Life [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Lord of the Rings (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Am I missing anything in these tags?, Because I am lazy and I don't want to think up human names, Because I can make it so, Because Legolas identifies as female in this fic and I respect my muse's feelings, Bilbo Muse just threw it at me, Blind Bilbo, Blind Fíli, Blindness, Blindness Caused by Accident, Chapter Four Tags Added, Chapter Three Tags Added, Chapter Two Tags Added, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gender Roles Looked At, Genderbent Legolas, Guilt, I am at the mercy of my muses, I had no choice, I just have really bad self control, IF I MISSED SOMETHING PLEASE TELL ME!!!!, Implied Verbal and Emotional Abuse, Implied homophobia, It was prompted to me, Legolas is a woman who was born a man, M/M, Mention of Abusive Ex-Boyfriend, Mention of Parents Kicking Their Child out of the House, Mentioning of Being in the Closet, Nightmare Inducing Ex-Boyfriend Who was Abusive, Okay I did, Orphan - Freeform, Someone Not Handling Blindness Well, Suicide Attempt, Tags to be added as needed, Though Thorin's last name is going to be Durin, Using their names for their modern names, Was not planned, Yes I made a blind Bilbo, at all, supportive family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2017-12-09 09:25:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/772614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moon_Rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin is an uncle and accountant, the first far more important then the second, but both are what make him...him.</p><p>His nephews are more like his sons, and Fíli, the eldest, has just learned that he'll probably never regain his sight after an accident has taken it from him.</p><p>He's not sure what to do, <i>especially</i> as Fíli seems to be far from accepting of this fact, so Thorin does the only thing he can do.</p><p>He focuses on getting Fíli's textbooks on audio.</p><p>Unfortunately, the only company that sells the exact ones Fíli needs is Greyhame Audio Books.</p><p>Fortunately, a friend from college (Dori Rivers), knows the sole supplier of Greyhame Audio Books.</p><p>Bag-End Bookshop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HiddenByFaeries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenByFaeries/gifts).



> Blame HiddenByFaeries.
> 
> It is ENTIRELY that person's fault.

Thorin isn't entirely sure what to do when his sister, Dís, calls him up in tears, explaining that Fíli had tried to cut his own wrists and it had only been the sixteen year old Kíli's determination to break open the bathroom door that had saved Fíli's life.

Ever since Fíli had learned that the likelihood of his eyesight returning, in time, was practically gone, the eighteen year old had taken a turn for the worse.

He seemed bound and determined to refuse any and all aid in helping him to regain his independence. He was convinced that his life was over and that he had lost every chance to have a life.

Everything any of the family said only sent Fíli into a rage and Thorin could only hope that this eventually passed, but until then Thorin knew he would be holding a guilty, sobbing, Kíli and recieving panicked calls from Dís. Of listening to advice from cousins and receiving hugs from old friends.

Fíli agrees to go back to college, reluctantly, and Dís is so relieved that she hugs Fíli without thinking about how it will startle him, so used to just being able to hug her previously mostly stoic son.

Thorin promises to find the audio books for Fíli's classes and Fíli makes a despairing comment about the fact that the only company that makes them is Greyhame Audio Books, and there is, to his knowledge, no supplier close by, meaning he'll have to drop the one class he was looking forward to.

The resigned way he speaks has Thorin bound and determined to find that audio book, but the studios are unreachable and the company itself is beyond reach.

It is Dori Rivers, a friend from college (he was there for a business degree, Thorin for accounting, and Dori fed him pastries) who offers a solution.

"Bag-End Bookshop has what you're looking for, I am sure of it. And if not, the owner can order it for you," Dori stated and Thorin raised one eyebrow at that.

"That mom and pop shop has what I need?"

"Greyhame Audio Books will sell to no other in the area."

Thorin considers this and sighs. "Very well. I'll go to this Bag-End Bookshop and I'll see," Thorin gave in.

"Good. Get there at around ten am. It opens shortly before then, so it'll be mostly empty," Dori responded and Thorin just nodded in agreement.

He hoped that the audio textbook he needed was there, or it could be ordered from there, or Thorin would be at a loss of what to do.

The next morning, while sitting in the Bag-End Bookshop's parking lot, Thorin wondered what possessed him to do this.

After five minutes of thought, he decided it must be hope that, someone, something in here would bring back the Fíli he had once known.

(Thorin had no idea how right he was.)


	2. Welcome to Bag-End Bookshop

The bell jingled as Thorin stepped into the bookshop, feeling like he had stepped into someone's home, not a store.

He immediately took notice of the wide entry way he had stepped into was a bit like a box, the wood floor under his feet moving seamlessly to the mural that welcomed all within the store.

The mural was of what could only be a stereotypical English rose garden that was given the illusion of further depth with the roses that were either false or, somehow, planted within the wooden box that was settled in front of the mural.

Between the roses was a book called  _The Rose Maiden_ , which he suspects might have been written by an employee or something similar, as it is the only book that is used as part of a decoration, at least from what Thorin can see.

To his right, where the floor to ceiling windows start about four feet away, was a cafe or coffee shop of some sort behind wooden "fences" that matched the hardwood floor of the entry way.

There are lots of tables and round tables, and the two wide openings in the "fences" are roped off with a simple sign reading  _Closed_  hanging from the nice ropes.

Beyond the coffee shop, within what Thorin would call the bookshop proper, the wood floors gave way to nice, homey, carpet that was pleasant, if short.

Just beyond the decorative fences was a table proudly showing off the newest releases and beyond that was a bookshelf, one that looked like it would be more at home in someone's home instead of a store, proclaiming new releases sorted by genre, then by author's last name, if the sign at the end of the bookshelf could be believed.

Further beyond the New Releases were the Best Sellers.

From where Thorin was standing, which was right next to the decorative fence edge before it cut the coffee shop off from the bookshop was, to the left, a long counter of registers, four in total, which had more bookshelves, these covering the floor to ceiling windows not occupied by the coffee shop area, behind them that proclaimed "held" items.

At the end, instead of abruptly cutting off in a sharp edge, it instead curved around so it attached to the wall, just beyond where the windows ended so that employees had to lift up a part of the counter (which looked to be six inches away from the wall) to get in.

More bookshelves, these proclaiming  _Used Books Sorted by Genre, Author's Last Name_  were perpendicular to the edge of the counter, leaving a great deal of space and making the best use of the space available.

In being so thoroughly distracted by the fact that, beyond bookshelves and archways that seemed to led off to who knew where, there was no sign of audio books  _or_  employees to help, Thorin nearly missed the door close to where the counter met the wall (maybe a foot down) that had a sign on it that read  _Employee's Only_.

"Hello?" he called out and he heard books falling, followed by a muffled curse.

"Sorry! Be right out! I thought you were one of my employees," came a voice from behind the door and it soon opened to reveal a man who was considerably shorter than Thorin's 6'2" frame and much softer looking than Thorin's harsh build.

It didn't help that a chocolate Standard Poodle trotted out behind the man, wearing a vest of all things, and the man shut the door behind him before he began to make his way over.

Thorin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, wondering if he maybe had misheard Dori, even though as the soft man came closer, Thorin could easily read that his name tag said his name was Bilbo Baggins, manager and owner of Bag-End Bookshop. "My apologies, again, for that. My name's Bilbo Baggins," he greeted, one hand coming up to shake Thorin's hand while the Poodle stood politely next to Bilbo.

"Thorin Durin," Thorin answered, taking Bilbo's hand and the man smiled, eyes alighting at some point over his left shoulder.

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Durin. How may I help you today?" he questioned as their hands dropped.

"I was told you have Greyhame Audio Books," Thorin answered and Bilbo made a low sound in the back of his throat as he nodded, scrubbing a hand through brown curls.

"Quite right. I'm better at verbal direction when I have a focal point. If you'd step up to the third register down please," he stated and turned, heading towards the counter, his hip bumping into it lightly before he lifted up the "gate" and stepped in, the Poodle following after Bilbo easily.

"Myrtle, corner," he ordered firmly and the Poodle, Myrtle, obeyed without question, trotting to a corner space where bookshelf met wall.

She whined as she lay down, even as Bilbo walked along the counter, his fingers brushing the first register, fourth for Thorin, and hitting the second, third for Thorin, register before he stood before it, hands on either side of it.

"Straight down and through the archway. Music in that room is well known Beethoven," he directed and Thorin turned to note the archway there.

"Thank you," Thorin answered, heading down the aisle way made by bookshelves of Best Sellers.

"Textbooks towards the front," Bilbo called and Thorin waved him off with another grunted out, 'thank you.'

He heard Bilbo call for Myrtle and he paused to look back to find that Bilbo was disappearing back towards the  _Employees Only_  door, though if he went or not, Thorin could not tell.

Besides, he had a textbook to find.

*~*~*

Bilbo let out a shiver once he had hidden himself away in the employee break room.

Oh, that man's  _voice_.

"Gah, no, no, no! This ended badly last time! No more, you promised yourself," he scolded quietly, even if it was out loud, as he worked on finding all of the books that he had dropped when the man, Thorin Durin, had surprised him.

He smiled when Myrtle nosed books to his hand and he carefully placed them on the table, praising her softly each time she did so.

Myrtle had joined their little family four years ago as a puppy when his previous Guide Dog, Minty (a German Shepherd cross, supposedly, but he had just been happy to have her) was reaching retirement age. She still lived with him, of course, but she was getting on in years and had started bumping into things recently, but Bilbo could safely leave her at home with Strider, his nephew's street mutt that was as fixed as Minty and Myrtle.

Another book bumped into his hand and he praised Myrtle before he stood to drop the book on top of the others as the bell above his door rang.

"Bilbo, I am so sorry I am late," Boromir called and Bilbo opened the door, Myrtle keeping to his side as he moved about, the lack of harness not meaning she wasn't working, her vest keeping her in the proper mindset.

"Boromir, I may love you like my Frodo, but that doesn't mean I'll let this go, especially as a customer showed up right at opening," Bilbo responded and Boromir gave a nervously apologetic chuckle.

Frodo said he tugged at his hair at the back whenever he did that, and Pippin, who volunteered at the bookshop since, at fourteen, he was too young to work part-time, while the rest (Merry, Sam, and, of course, Frodo) at sixteen could.

However, during the day, Bilbo was usually left with just Boromir to help in the bookshop, though Dori usually showed up at around noon with Arwen to open up the cafe (Rivers Cafe, specifically), they were often too busy to take the time to help Bilbo.

Luckily, Aragorn and Legolas showed up at that time, meaning Bilbo could focus on not having to man a cash register and trying to get people to use their debit cards, as he could not check IDs, nor could he check signatures, and the problem with cash was being cheated.

"I'm sorry, but...Father got into an argument with Faramir," Boromir explained, softly and Bilbo frowned.

"You mean he started ripping into Faramir about his desire to be a fashion designer. Again," Bilbo corrected the twenty-two year old and there was a soft exhale.

"Yes," Boromir whispered.

Bilbo sometimes wanted to beat Denethor over the head with lead pipe till the man's brain was mush due to the man  _constantly_  favoring Boromir over Faramir.

According to Boromir it was because Boromir had always been more "manly", seeking "manly" pursuits such as football and sword fighting as hobbies with the desire to get a degree in business, compared to Faramir's more "womanly” pursuits, such as his desire to design and make clothes.

(In Bilbo's opinion, and nearly everyone else's, Faramir was exceptionally good at both, though admittedly Bilbo liked the feel of the cloth over anything else.)

Denethor was also the reason Boromir was so far in the closet that he might just fall through the back wall out of it instead of stepping out through the door.

"You told him that when he turns 18 I have a room for him so long as he doesn't mind dogs? And if he needs to move in sooner that he can?" Bilbo asked and Boromir probably nodded before he answered, "Yes."

"Then you can't do anything more. Is Faramir okay?"

"As much as he ever is. Éowyn's got him," Boromir answered.

"Thank Eru. And you know you've got a room too when Denethor finds out, right?" Bilbo continued.

"If," Boromir corrected and Bilbo let out a low sigh.

"No, I mean 'when.' Things like that  _never_ stay a secret, Boromir. I should know. Now, go unlock Register Two and when that's done, come back and help me resort some books. I dropped them when our customer came in," Bilbo responded and Boromir gave a quiet confirmation before heading off.

"Heel, Myrtle," Bilbo ordered and he felt Myrtle bump his hand with her nose when she settled into place and Bilbo retreated to the break room, going back to searching for the books.

And tried to focus on the problems of his employees instead of how sexy Thorin sounded, which was much harder to do then before, as now all he could think of was Thorin's deep voice and...

"Eru take me now," he whimpered out, covering his face in embarrassment.

*~*~*

Boromir looked up when he heard someone approaching and smiled at the man who was approaching.

He was barely taller than Boromir himself, with long black hair that is streaked in what Boromir would call _distinguished_ and a beard that has no grey, but is cropped close along his jaw line.

It works for the man in the business suit, which is the only thing that really throws Boromir, though years of hiding his true feelings from his father (which had ended more than one relationship) helps him not look it.

“Find what you were looking for?” he questioned.

“No,” the man growled out and Boromir nearly wanted to go into the back and pat Bilbo’s shoulder comfortingly.

Bilbo was someone who was attracted to voice and presence, and the man has both in spades. “Oh? What were you looking for?” Boromir asked.

“A Greyhame Audio Textbook,” the man grumbled.

Boromir immediately knelt down and pulled out the textbook “catalogue” which was really a binder filled with all the Greyhame Audio Textbooks they sold, with barcodes under them. “Which one? We can have it here, if it is already not in the back, in three to five days,” Boromir stated and the man startled a little before he opened it.

“ _The Psychology of Society_ by Dr. Celebrían Peredhel,” Thorin stated and Boromir nodded before pulling a clipboard out.

“Name, and best number to reach you by. We’ll have it for you in three to five days,” Boromir stated, pushing it over to him.

It was a simple form to fill out when they ordered something, free shipping to store, but it cost to deliver to another address. “Will you be paying now or when you pick up your order?” Boromir questioned.

“I better pay now,” the man, Thorin if the name Boromir was reading upside down was anything to go off of, stated.

“Cash, credit, or debit?” Boromir asked.

“Cash,” Thorin stated and Boromir nodded, scanning the barcode from the book before he rattled off, “$178.46.”

Thorin muttered about the cost, but actually pulled out that much money in 10s and 20s.

Boromir decided not to comment on it and printed out the receipts, one for Thorin and one for himself.

He was a little startled when Thorin said, “Keep the change. I don’t need to jingle.”

“All right, sir. See you in three to five days,” Boromir stated and stapled the store receipt to the form Thorin had filled out (name and number, very good) and put the stapled sheets into the metal basket he used for it as the bell rang for Thorin’s departure.

The basket was for all the orders he would call in after closing.

Or during his lunch break, depending on how many orders they got as he replaced the catalogue under the register.

Today was going to be a _long_ day, he could tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am a little bad at describing things.
> 
> How was it?
> 
> To my knowledge, _The Rose Maiden_ does not exist, but probably will one day. For any wondering, it is based off the fairy tale 'Snow-White and Rose-Red'. I say it probably will one day is because I am, tentatively, writing it.
> 
> Also to my knowledge, _The Psychology of Society_ by Dr. Celebrían Peredhel doesn't exist either, but I do think there is a book called _The Psychology of Society_ , but I am not sure.
> 
> On Frodo and Bilbo having a lot of dogs; both of Bilbo's (Minty and Myrtle and see what I did there?) were/are his Guide Dogs. Both of his dogs are "home trained" with supervision and help from one who has trained Seeing Eye/Guide Dogs for the Blind before.
> 
> I decided on Frodo naming his dog Strider because he is a rover dog before Frodo tamed him, and Aragorn is going by Aragorn in this, but also because Bilbo and Aragorn are friends in the book, Frodo becomes friends with Aragorn eventually, and one day I want a dog named Strider.
> 
> (Aragorn goes, specifically, by Aragorn Elessar in this because I am not creative in names at all.)
> 
> Also...
> 
> The Fellowship basically works at the bookshop.
> 
> It just happened.
> 
> *headdesks*
> 
> And yay, Boromir!
> 
> Boromir who will _not_ die! But, you know...things.
> 
> And plot.
> 
> Somewhere in here, there is plot.
> 
> (Also, me using Tolkien's Valar and such because I am a geek and proud of it.)


	3. Discussion About Why Sending People to Bilbo Isn't Cool Dori

Boromir looked up from where he was sorting the receipts and smiled as he watched Arwen, her long black hair bound up in a braided bun at the back of her head, walked in followed closely by Dori. "Bombur is running late. Did Thorin come in?" Dori answered and Boromir nodded a bit.

"You took care of him?" Dori questioned.

"No. I was late. But Bilbo knows this place better than I," Boromir stated, only to be interrupted by Dori going, "Except when someone leaves a box in one of the aisle ways."

"That was one time and it was my first day here. However, he was able to get your Thorin to the audiobooks, but he had to order anyway," Boromir answered.

"He's not  _my_ anything except a friend. Did he and Bilbo talk?" Dori asked, even as the sounds of Arwen warming everything up and starting on the "quick" bake items filled the air along with the scent of coffee.

"Yes. He went onto polite auto-pilot, I am sure," Boromir responded as he closed up the box for the receipts and put them back under the register.

Dori sighed and tapped his fingers before his eyes drifted to the  _Employees Only_  door. "He's in there," Boromir stated and Dori was gone.

*~*~*

"Come in," Bilbo called as he finished repacking the box he had dropped.

"Bilbo, did you talk to Thorin?" Dori asked as he stepped in, his soft voice filling the air and Bilbo resisted the urge to bang his head against the table, especially when he heard Dori greeting Myrtle.

"Yes. And Dori, we really need to have a discussion about why sending deep voiced men to my store in search of audio textbooks is not a nice thing to do," Bilbo responded as he finished repacking the last book before he began to head toward Dori, knowing the other man will catch him before he crashes right into him.

He's right, because Dori always will, because that's how they met, Bilbo being tripped in a cafe he knew almost as well as his house and Dori catching him.

There were worse things to base a friendship off of.

"Made your week sing, didn't it?" Dori questioned and Bilbo resisted the urge to grit his teeth at Dori.

"Dori, we agreed after the last time you wouldn't set me up with any more of your friends," Bilbo hissed and Dori let out a huff that meant he shrugged his shoulders.

"Not why I sent him. Do you think you can help?"

"With what? I went into polite auto-pilot. I barely remembered to send him to the right place!"

Dori grumbled and there was a soft thunk that Bilbo knew was Dori losing the battle of wills to keep from hitting his head against the door. "You should have told me about the voice and I could have asked him why he wanted a Greyhame Audio Textbook," Bilbo returned and there was more grumbling from Dori that was too low for Bilbo to catch.

"Fine. I admit, I should have warned you, but I was hoping Boromir would be on time today," Dori stated.

"Dori, it is Tuesday. It is a fool's hope for him to be on time," Bilbo answered and there was another soft thunk of Dori hitting his head against the door, again.

Distantly, Bilbo can hear the ringing of his bell and Dori sighed.

Bilbo only started slightly when two hands suddenly came to rest on his shoulders. "All right. When will the audio textbook come in?"

"Three to five days, according to Boromir. That means it is one of the odder ones. A psychology one maybe? Or sociology, either or."

"Think he'd ask?"

"No. But Legolas will. And Legolas loves to give people the things they’ve ordered, and Boromir needs to do the books anyway, so I'll just have to ask Legolas to stay late. If nothing else, Frodo will pull it out. He's disarming that way," Bilbo answered and he ducked around Dori to the door, fingertips brushing the doorframe before the actual doorknob and then he's heading out, towards the braille section.

"Good morning Bilbo!" Legolas greeted brightly and Bilbo smiles, turning to the voice.

"Morning Legolas. Aragorn here?" Bilbo returned and he hears the soft jingling of bells on the skirt Faramir had made for Legolas when he learned that it was the ten year anniversary of Legolas telling her parents that she was a female trapped in a male body.

"No, not yet. I am early. Morning Dori!" Legolas responded and Dori greeted her warmly before he headed off to the cafe, the smell of coffee and pastries filling the air.

Bilbo's stomach rumbled and he could hear Legolas's smile as she said, "I bought you scones and tea at Dori's shop."

Bilbo laughed a bit. "I'll take you up on it. After I go through our braille books," he answered and Legolas gave a confirmation that she heard and understood before she went off.

Bilbo headed to the braille room.

*~*~*

Thorin glances at his cell phone as it rings.

He is alone in his office with the accounts he’s in charge of and he pulls the phone out of its spot in the drawer.

He frowns at the unfamiliar number before he answers it, as it looks vaguely familiar.

“Hello?” he greeted.

 _“Is this Thorin Durin?”_  a voice asked.

“It is,” Thorin answered hesitantly.

 _“Oh good. I misdialed twice and if I had done it a third time I would have had to have Boromir do it. My apologies. This is Legolas Greenleaf from Bag-End Bookshop. Mr. Durin, your order at Bag-End Bookshop is in. When can you pick it up? We can hold it up to a week without question, and longer if you ask,”_  Legolas explained almost cheerfully and Thorin hummed a bit as he looked at his desk calendar to see when he could pick it up.

Only to then realize that he needed to pick it up today.

“What time do you close today?” he asked, wondering not for the last time why he worked Sundays.

 _“We close at six today,”_  the person answered, the voice too neutral for Thorin to pick up a gender over the phone, and Thorin cursed quietly.

_“What’s wrong?”_

Thorin almost tells him to leave it be, but realizes that getting mad at one of the employees is not going to help and could only hurt. “I can’t get there before closing and I need to pick it up today,” he explained.

 _“Oh, you need it for school then? Hold on one moment,”_  Legolas answered.

He could hear the sound of a phone being set down.

_“Bilbo?”_

The answer was lost.

_“May Mr. Durin pick up his order after closing?”_

There was a voice and then the phone was being picked up again.  _“Bilbo says you can pick it up after closing, so long as you get here before ten. We need to close up by then,”_  Legolas translated.

“Thank you. I’ll try to be there as close to closing as I can get,” Thorin answered and Legolas said a polite good-bye before hanging up.

Thorin closed his cell phone and let out a long sigh.

It was three pm on a Sunday and he was working instead of with his nephews, trying to get Fíli to actually  _attempt_  to be independent while Kíli stared guiltily at his brother, though why Thorin did not know.

He let out a long sigh and buried his face in his hands.

Well, there was one way to force Fíli into at least leaving the house without his brother.

*~*~*

“You can’t make me go inside,” Fíli hissed, his eyes jumping erratically, though otherwise unchanged since he went blind from injuries he suffered that had taken his sight.

“I can’t leave you in the car,” Thorin returned calmly and Fíli practically bared his teeth at the implication he had no choice.

Thorin knew that Fíli wasn’t adjusting well to his blindness.

He also knew that Fíli wasn’t trying, which infuriated Thorin, though he did his best to trap those feelings inside.

His eyes fell on the thick bandages around Fíli’s lower arms and wondered if he could have done anything to prevent it, and his eyes were forced away when Fíli tugged his long sleeves more securely over them.

It didn’t hide them entirely, however.

“Fíli, this is your textbook we are picking up. I would prefer if you came in with me,” Thorin tried and Fíli hunched in on his seat.

Getting Kíli to agree to stay behind so Fíli would have to deal with Thorin on his own had been an argument and a half and it was edging to fifteen to ten  _because_  of that argument.

Thorin just wanted to get the book and get out.

“Fine,” Fíli grouched and Thorin barely kept back his sigh of relief.

“All right then,” Thorin answered and got out of the car.

Fíli got out after a time and Thorin watched as Fíli stumbled slightly over a slight break in the asphalt. “Where’s your cane?” Thorin questioned.

“I don’t need it,” Fíli snapped.

“Yes, you do,” Thorin corrected.

Fíli snarled and slammed the door with far more force than necessary, but Thorin didn’t bat an eye. He only stepped forward, explaining to Fíli what he was doing (and ignoring Fíli’s snarls that he did not need to be told where Thorin was, even though Thorin knew he panicked if people suddenly touched him), and carefully hooked his nephew’s hand over his elbow, ignoring Fíli’s demands to release him (but not ignoring the way Fíli clung to him despite his anger).

With that, he headed up, warning Fíli of obstacles (and for once not getting snapped at for it) to the front door and knocked.

“Be there in a minute,” came a muffled voice and Thorin looked around the bookstore, surprised to see a long bodied black dog stretched out across the floor.

The dog was staring at them calmly since they knocked on the door, before laying back down as, from the  _Employees Only_  door, came a tall blonde in a long skirt. She stepped over the black dog calmly and walked forward. “Are you Mr. Durin?” she asked, Thorin surprised that she stood at his jaw, for at a distance she had looked much smaller.

“Yes,” Thorin answered and turned slightly to Fíli, who was glaring in the direction of the door.

“This is Fíli, my nephew,” he introduced as the young woman opened the door, the bell ringing while she ignored how the dog slowly shifted up, though did not leave the ‘down’ position.

“Legolas Greenleaf. We spoke on the phone,” Legolas stated and opened the door wide for them.

“I was getting worried when you didn’t show. Don’t worry about Strider. Lanky, lean, though he may be, he is far from mean,” Legolas responded and Thorin resisted the urge to sigh when Fíli fought to walk through unaided, ignoring Legolas’s polite word of warning shortly before he walked into the door.

He let out an irritated curse and Legolas bit her lip to keep back what could only be a laugh. “It isn’t a bad thing to ask for help,” Legolas stated and Fíli glared in her direction.

“What would you know about it?” he snapped and Thorin is about to reprimand his nephew when Legolas answers calmly, “Well, if I hadn’t asked Bilbo for help, I probably would be dead. Or walking the streets. I was kicked out of the house with only the clothes on my back and the money in my pockets, and my part-time job here when I was 16.”

He then shrugged a bit and Fíli, scowling and flushed, apologized.

Legolas smiled at him and added, “Don’t worry about it.”

As they approached the dog, Strider, Legolas seemed to draw up on herself and snapped her fingers, pointing toward the  _Employees Only_  door. “Move, Strider,” she commanded.

The dog slowly got up and standing, he was a considerable size.

He was fluffy and long legged, his shoulder easily reaching Legolas’s hip. He moved as if he had all day and Legolas watched him go, praising him warmly as Strider nosed the door open to enter the room.

As Legolas continued to the cash registers, Fíli holding onto Thorin’s upper arm again, a voice drifted out, “We’re missing $500.”

It sounded like the man who had rung him up.

“We  _can’t_  be missing $500,” Bilbo corrected and Legolas cleared her throat nervously as she quickly stepped behind the register.

“Here you go Mr. Durin.  _The Psychology of Society_ ,” she stated and Thorin could hear the man who had rung him up and Bilbo discussing who had been at the registers.

“I’ll show you out,” Legolas prompted and led the way, opening the door for them wide.

“Thank you,” Thorin stated and Legolas gave a smile.

“It was no trouble. We’re here till ten every Sunday anyway,” Legolas stated.

“Legolas, you need to help Boromir search for some receipts and see if they were just misplaced,” Bilbo called, walking out with that Poodle of his at his side.

“In a moment. I’m showing Mr. Durin and his nephew out,” Legolas called back, her long blonde hair flipping around slightly as she called back.

“Ah, I thought I heard that bell. Good evening Mr. Durin. I’m sorry it took so long to get the book, but Greyhame Audio Books delivery is spotty at best,” Bilbo called and Thorin just gave a small nod.

“Quite all right. It was in time for Fíli’s class tomorrow,” Thorin answered.

“Good night,” he added and left, Fíli being amiable to actually accepting help, but he yanked his hand away and made his way to the car himself, even though he nearly took a header off the curb.

“You can’t spend your life angry, Fíli,” Thorin stated.

“Really? So, you’re going to follow that advice too?” Fíli snapped as he scrambled for the door handle and Thorn bit back his normal response, which was to snarl that Fíli didn’t understand.

“Yeah, thought so,” Fíli snapped as he got in, nearly smacking his forehead as he did so.

Thorin took a calming breath and then got in himself.

Well, at least Fíli had actually accepted help.

Too bad it fell apart.

(Kíli was smiling when Fíli came home and asked how it was, but his face crumpled into heartbreak when Fíli just snapped at him to shut up before he stumbled his way to the stairs and up.)

(Thorin just hugged his youngest nephew and rubbed his back as the brunette cried.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legolas decided to be a woman who was born a man.
> 
> (Thank you LectorEl.)


	4. Dream Memories and Breakfast (Memory of Abusive Ex-Boyfriend and Said Abuse Discussed)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo muse, why?
> 
> WHY?
> 
> Wasn't having a nice life, with a bit of sadness and having adopted your adorable nephew enough?
> 
> WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOURSELF AN ABUSIVE EX-BOYFRIEND WHY!?!?!?
> 
> *headdesks*
> 
> I swear, I did _not_ plan this. This is why I add tags as I go and try to warn in chapter titles.

Bilbo woke with a silent shout and clawing at his blankets as cold sweat clung to his skin and he shivered.

He buried his hands into his hair and let out a low sigh before he reached for his watch on his bedside table, carefully opening it to run his fingers along the braille numbers.

 _4:30_.

"Damn," Bilbo muttered softly and scrubbed at his face before he got up, placing the watch, a pocket watch because he liked it, even if it was a bit old fashioned, back on the table before he sat up in bed, scrubbing his face a bit. He then got out of bed and made it before he headed to the chest of drawers next to the closet.

Top black trousers and then, going down, brown, gray, tan, and then jeans, though he wore them rarely.

He knelt down to pick brown, going for one of the medium shades in the middle, before he closed the drawer and stood up normally. He settled the trousers on top of the chest of drawers before he headed to the closet. He opened it calmly and thought before he walked down, feeling his dress shirts down the left side that went from white to cream and then it went down the colors of the rainbow and the shades within, though he stopped at the cream.

Or he was told it was cream.

He could trust Frodo and Legolas with his clothes, and many other things as well, so he knew it to be so.

The wooden slats they used to mark the change of color was there and he carefully took one of the lighter cream ones off the hanger, leaving the empty hanger there.

He carefully returned to where the trousers were folded and folded the shirt on top of it. He then headed back into the closet and wondered what he should get. A waistcoat and jacket mix? Or should he just get a jacket. There was also the matter if he wanted to wear a cravat to get a few giggles from Frodo or a tie, if anything at all in that manner.

However, the idea of anything around his neck made him shiver and shudder, the cold sweat coming back.

"Waistcoat and jacket it is," he muttered.

And suspenders, but those were with his ties, hanging up on the back of his bedroom door. He only had two.

The brown ones and the black ones.

Instead he headed in and headed for waistcoats, which was at the back of the closet, smiling at the plastic braille tabs on the hangers that told him what color and if it was solid or had a pattern, then what the pattern was. He paused when he got to the yellow ones, all three, and paused at the maize yellow vest with lemon chiffon leaf and vine pattern and the fact he actually knew the names to colors he could not see made him smile at the irony.

Could he see, he wouldn't care at all beyond it looking good together, would have probably called it yellow with a paler yellow, if how Legolas explained it once, as she didn't care one whit about color names either, was completely honest.

(It didn’t matter that Bilbo trusted her, because he did. He just didn’t trust her when it came to colors. That was what Bilbo trusted Frodo alone about.)

No, that was Frodo and Faramir that liked the actual names for colors, though Frodo's was for his paintings over fashion.

He carefully pulled it off the hanger and then went to the jackets, the purple shades and found the plum one. He remembered wearing this before and Legolas's surprised sound and how Boromir had dropped a box of books.

He headed to the bedroom door and pulled down the brown suspenders, which he knew to be brown due to the fact they had an oval clasp instead of a square one, and headed back to the chest of drawers. He then folded the clothes in reverse order he would put them on in. Jacket, waistcoat, clip the suspenders onto the trousers, and then fold the trousers, then the shirt.

Socks and shoes could be picked later, and then he took a quick shower.

He was rubbing his hair dry frantically when his alarm, for 5:30, went off.

Throwing on a bathrobe, he entered his bedroom and waited for the last of the country song to end before he turned it off. He would have to change out the CD.

He was getting a little tired of country music.

Maybe he would put in one of Frodo's bands, though he was sure his nephew would groan and whine about his uncle "trying to be cool" again, though the hug and laugh against his hair (Frodo got his mother's height) told him he didn't mean all of it.

Bilbo sighed and finished drying off before he got dressed, leaving his waistcoat and jacket for after he slipped on socks, socks that were tan or coffee or something and decided that Legolas or Frodo were going to have to help him reorganize everything so that the shoes he owned matched with the trousers so he didn't have to ask them if the shoes looked right with everything and he let out a low sigh even as he got his waistcoat on.

There was the sound of footsteps on the wood and then a knock. "Uncle Bilbo?" Frodo called and Bilbo answered, "Door's open Frodo. We'll need to reorganize my closet at some point. I am getting a little tired of having to ask you about shoes," Bilbo answered and there was a snort of laughter as Frodo entered the room, the tie rack on the back making that odd sound it made.

His footsteps were swallowed by the carpet underfoot, but Frodo loved to chatter or hum or fill the air, somehow, with noise.

Bilbo figured that for Frodo, having a blind uncle, and later a blind guardian, was just normal. His normal had always included pushing chairs all the way in and greeting his uncle before touching, and various other small things that just made it so Bilbo could relax in his own home without having to worry about something being moved to a different place than he remembered it being.

He remembered how it was with Wyatt and tripping and how Minty had shoved her way between them.

He should have known, but Wyatt had been so...so...

"Uncle, are you all right?" Frodo asked, gently touching his shoulder and Bilbo startled a bit before he laughed.

"Sorry Frodo. My mind went wandering. My shoes?" Bilbo asked.

"Yeah, put them in front of you," Frodo answered and the bed dipped slightly.

Frodo's head on his right shoulder wasn't unexpected, and the boy carefully nuzzled into his shoulder before scooting closer.

Bilbo didn't hesitate to wrap one arm around Frodo and gently hug him. "I'm okay. Now, head downstairs. I'll be down in a bit to cook breakfast," Bilbo stated, releasing his nephew who hopped off the bed and with a laugh.

"Of course Uncle! I'll also make sure Legolas doesn't set the stove on fire again," Frodo answered and there was the sound of the door being hit, and then the rack was making the sound.

The door shut and then Frodo could be heard making his way along the landing and then down the stairs.

Bilbo let out a calming breath before he toed on his shoes and headed downstairs, hand trailing the banister and wall to gain his bearings before he headed for the kitchen, the sound of Frodo keeping Legolas from cooking could be heard.

Bilbo smiled, even as he heard the sounds of the dogs getting excited at the back door.

He ignored them, however.

Despite the early hour, there was time for everything.

*~*~*

Frodo chatters as they walk the dogs.

Myrtle is on duty, though is mostly quiet in the cool morning air, and Bilbo can hear the corrections Frodo is giving Strider, the stubborn mutt challenging Frodo again.

On the other side of Frodo, Legolas occasionally interjects, Minty quiet and calm company for the sole female of Bilbo's home.

She was also the only one who has not grown up around dogs, the Baggins family renowned, at least in Bilbo's hometown, for having a pack of well-trained dogs swarming over their large properties.

Bilbo remembers his father's Corgis that would whine pitifully for scraps and his mother's Border Collie cross that she trained to lead Bilbo around and keep him safe when he wandered off, far too curious for his own good, always wanting to go farther, see more while he could.

"Normal route or short-cut?" Frodo asked, pulling Bilbo out of his musings as they reached the corner and Bilbo smiled.

"Left," he ordered and Myrtle began to guide him up.

Frodo laughed and chattered, before he corrected Strider once more and Legolas asked about what Frodo thought some breeds might be in Strider's genetic makeup.

"Some sort-of wolfhound or deerhound. He's got a pretty strong prey drive. Maybe some spitz in him too," Frodo answered and there was a quick correction before Frodo was slipping back into explaining the different classes of dogs and how they got placed there.

Beyond a few slip ups with Strider, who was corrected firmly and properly each time by Frodo, omitting the two times by Legolas when the pair switched dogs, it was a good walk.

Bilbo couldn't be more pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Legolas lives with Bilbo and Frodo.
> 
> No, I do not know how that came about.
> 
> Well, plot wise I know.
> 
> Muse wise, not. A. Clue.


	5. Meeting in Person Instead of Word

When Kíli had first met Frodo Baggins in English during freshman year, his usual bluntness and stating of the obvious nearly ruined any chance for friendship as, the first words out of his mouth was, "What happened to your hand?"

Not, _"How do you do?"_

Not, _"Hi, my name is Kíli Chester-Durin._ "

No, he had to ask the boy with the curled over left hand and half a pointer finger, "What happened to your hand?"

It was, at the time, the most horrible moment of Kíli's life. He had thought, for sure, that he had lost a possible friend.

He was also sure the curly haired blond at the other boy's side was going to punch him in the nose.

But instead he had smiled and answered, "I was in a car accident."

Kíli had spluttered and apologized and then Frodo had laughed, nudged the curly haired blond with his elbow before introducing himself, as well as Sam. And Kíli stuttered madly out his own introduction and somehow, they had ended up being friends.

Then he met Merry and Pippin, who were as close as Kíli was to Fíli.

Or was at any rate.

Ever since the accident (water, concrete steps, and the right spot at the right pressure, and Fíli was blinded for life and it wouldn't have happened if Kíli had just  _behaved_ instead of acting like an _idiot_ ), Fíli had been angry.

Angry at  _everything_  and Kíli was lost, unsure of what to do,  _especially_  since Fíli wasn't even trying.

He just got mad.

And it was  _that_ _day_ that had become the most horrible moment of Kíli's life.

"Kíli, is everything all right?" Frodo asked and Kíli looked up from his lunch, which he wasn't eating, into Frodo's frowning face.

"If Sam sees you frowning at me, he'll punch me," Kíli mumbled.

"He will not. Now, tell me of your problems, and I shall fix them. Or attempt to at least," Frodo stated and Kíli couldn't help but laugh.

It wasn't a great laugh, but he laughed. "Fíli...Fíli's changed since the accident. He went blind because of it and...and it's all my fault," Kíli explained, his voice cracking a bit over the last word and Frodo let out slightly pained sigh.

"Oh, Kíli, none of it is your fault," Frodo stated.

"But it is!" Kíli protested, his voice cracking more, tears welling up in his eyes, and Frodo reached out, with his damaged hand, and let it settle onKíli's shoulder.

"No, it isn't, Kíli. Come sit by me and tell me everything. Or come, sit by me, and let me convince you to come to the bookshop after school today," Frodo weaseled out and Kíli easily followed Frodo's vocal pull. He settled into the bench next to Frodo and ignored the whispered words and assumptions.

They were nothing on the ones that Frodo lived with, in Kíli's opinion.

No, those were far more pointed, hissing out words like "cripple" and "half-handed" when he walked by in school, but he smiled and laughed and pulled Sam away with either hand. The left was useable, but not dexterous. Merry was harder to pull off of anyone, and Pippin was the worst, tying only with Kíli in regards to people saying things about Frodo.

"Want to talk or hear my convincing arguments?" Frodo asked.

"Arguments. You've been trying for two years. I don't think you'll succeed this time," Kíli answered.

"My uncle has an entire room of braille books including learning guides," Frodo answered.

Kíli stilled entirely and stared at Frodo. He felt as if his brain had screeched to a halt and his fingers twitched. "Can Dad drive you?" Kíli asked and Frodo smiled as he nodded.

*~*~*

Darin Chester loved his sons, dearly.

He hadn’t been around for Fíli’s accident, the curse of being a musician on tour more often than not due to the fact both of his sons were teens now and Thorin was far more involved in Darin’s sons’ lives than Darin himself, despite being there for the big things.

He could admit it to himself, when he wasn’t jealous or angry.

But he would _never_ understand the friendship Kíli had with Frodo and Frodo’s family.

When Kíli had come stumbling out, asking if he could take them to Bag-End Bookshop, practically begging, with Frodo following calmly with his friend Sam, he wondered if he could say no.

(The answer to that was, no he could not.)

*~*~*

“Afternoon Dori!” Frodo called as he stepped through, causing Kíli to perk up slightly.

“Dori?” he called, even as he heard the unmistakable sound of Dori calling back, “Afternoon Frodo! And Kíli! How are you lad? And why are you in Frodo? I didn’t think you were working today,”

“I’m not, but Kíli needed to come. Where’s Uncle Bilbo?” Frodo responded, even as Kíli said he was doing fine.

“Braille room,” Dori answered and Frodo immediately grabbed Kíli’s wrist, leading him away to the back.

"Hey Boromir, Aragorn, Legolas," Frodo called as he passed them by.

Boromir is new to Kíli. He has short brown hair and a close cropped beard that connected to his mustache in a circle around his mouth, dressed in nice clothes that don't match Aragorn, who has long black hair in a low ponytail, his lower face along the jaw and across the chin covered in stubble.

Legolas, Kíli knew.

Legolas with her blond hair braided in a way that started at the temples, as if to pull back everything, yet left the hair cascading down to her waist.

Kíli waved as he was dragged passed her and Legolas smiled and adjusted her box of books before waving back. "Uncle Bilbo!" Frodo called as they walked into a room that had Fred Astaire crooning from above.

The shelves were sturdy things and  _stuffed_ with books that look thick than they should.

"Frodo! I wasn't expecting you till later," Bilbo greeted as he pushed a book onto the shelf.

"I have a friend who needs some help," Frodo answered and Bilbo's head shifted the side while Kíli wondered if he was invisible.

Frodo then laughed a bit and tugged Kíli forward more. "Sorry. Uncle Bilbo, this is Kíli Chester-Durin. Kíli, this is Bilbo Baggins, owner of Bag-End Bookshop and my uncle," Frodo introduced and Bilbo almost seemed to startle.

"Frodo! You introduce your friends first! It is a pleasure to meet you Kíli," Bilbo answered holding a hand out in Frodo's direction.

“Pleasure is mine,” Kíli answered softly and stepped forward, carefully taking Bilbo’s hand.

Bilbo glanced his way, but he couldn’t seem to focus.

And then it hit Kíli like a freight train.

And, like what always happened when something surprised him, he blurted it out.

"You're blind!"


	6. A Book and a Phone Call (Semi to Graphic Description of Aftermath of Suicide Attempt)

Kíli groaned and covered his face the moment the words left his mouth.

"I am so sorry Mr. Baggins, I hadn't meant to say that I swear," he stated and he startled when he heard laughter, warm and curling.

His head snapped up and he was surprised to find Mr. Baggins leaning lightly against the bookshelf, laughing. His laughter had brought forth a _Poodle_ of all things, wearing a vest.

When the dog leaned against Mr. Baggins, lightly, he dropped a hand to the Poodle's shoulder and pet the dog there.

It remindedKíli of others who had service dogs, always petting them on the shoulder. "Oh, Kíli, you are everything Frodo said you were. Don't worry about it. Now, what do you need help with?" he asked gently and Kíli felt himself grow mute.

His voice stuck in his throat a bit before he managed to get out, "I need a book on how to read braille. Two. One for someone already blind and one for someone sighted," Kíli explained, quickly, tripping over his words and Mr. Baggins seemed to stand up a bit.

Kíli found it odd having to look  _down_ on an adult, but he didn't make mention of it. "All right. We have quite a few, actually. It would be far cheaper to just buy one. You can learn together that way. I'd be more than happy to help," he responded as he made his way over to the wall by the door, Kíli stepping out of the way instead of forcing Bilbo to ask him to move.

Frodo raised an eyebrow and Kíli shoved his hands in his pockets a bit, hunching over.

It was an automatic reaction now, stepping out of the way whenever Fíli went storming through the house, hitting things, tripping over things he threw.

"Kíli, I think this will be the best one for you. It is the newest edition of how to learn to read Braille. A Bag-End Bookshop specialty," Mr. Baggins stated, holding out a thick book.

Kíli stepped forward and took it with a quiet, "Thank you, Mr. Baggins."

Mr. Baggins smiled at him. "It is  _Bilbo_  Kíli. And if you ever need to talk, my door is always open. Now, take that up to Boromir and get home to do your homework. And I hope it helps," Mr. Baggins ( _Bilbo_ ) stated, even as he turned back to the bookshelves, wandering back to the box, the Poodle stepping between Bilbo and the box when he got too close.

"Come  _on_  Kíli! Fíli needs that book, doesn't he?" Frodo answered, gently tugging at him and as they made their way back through the store, Kíli was both surprised, and not, to see Sam sorting books in the used books section.

“Boromir, we have a book for you,” Frodo called, with a quick grin and a greeting for Sam, as he tugged Kíli through the bookstore up to the front counter.

Once there, Frodo hugged Kíli, made him promise to tell Frodo how it went, and then left to go bug Sam.

This had given Boromir ample time to get to the cash register, along with his father, who had been sitting on the café to wait for Kíli.

Once there, he smiled down at Kíli, which is not that surprising (his uncle and mother are both tall, his father average, yet matches his mother in height, and while Fíli got his mother’s height, Kíli’s bones ache a bit, which his mother reassures him means that he’s about to go through a growth-spurt) to him, just like it is not surprising to him that he has to look down to catch most of his friends’ eyes.

Kíli handed it over and Boromir smiled a bit. “Shameless self-promoter, our lovely owner of Bag-End,” Boromir teased and Kíli frowned

“What?”

Boromir didn’t hesitate to turn the book around so Kíli was able to read the cover, which had both braille and print.

 _A Guide on How to Read, and Write, in Braille_ by Bilbo Baggins.

Kíli was sure that the only reason Frodo wasn’t laughing hysterically at him was because he wasn’t there.

As it was, Father had taken over that job.

“Oh, shut up,” Kíli grumbled and Father laughed louder at that.

*~*~*

Fíli slammed the door as he entered the death trap his house had become, followed by his mother shouting from the kitchen, “Shoes on the shoe rack!”

He ignored the sound of the door opening behind him and shutting far more polite. “Fíli, slamming doors is not appropriate behavior,” Uncle Thorin scolded and Fíli resisted the urge to throw a shoe at him.

His arms itched, which was due to them healing and he tensed when he heard someone running in. “Fíli, you’ll never guess what I got today!” Kíli exclaimed, and Fíli can imagine how his brother looks, all rumpled brown hair and vibrating with excitement.

As it is, he can _feel_ the excited energy pouring off of him.

“What Kíli?” he growled, in no mood to deal with his overly excited brother.

In no mood to face his guilt as Kíli’s panicked screams echo through his memory, of hearing Kíli throwing himself against the door. No, he is no mood to face the fact that it was Kíli who came running to the bathroom, who suspected something when not even their _mother_ did, of the way he had tried to keep the blood in his arms, of the fact it was his _baby brother_ , the one he was supposed to _protect_ that he hurt the most.

(Because it wasn’t enough he could still hear Kíli gasp and whimper that he was all right, he was okay, when in reality he had a dislocated shoulder.)

He ignores how his guilt grows at Kíli’s slight hitch in breath and instead he hears Kíli step forward. “I…I got us a book,” Kíli explained softly and Fíli felt his spine stiffen.

“Kíli,” Uncle Thorin began to scold (Mahal _curse_ the fact that Uncle Thorin was so damned quiet!) and Kíli let out a sound.

“No, no! It is a braille book!” he exclaimed and Fíli pulled back.

“So we can learn, together, how to read braille! I never wanted to learn on my own, and you know I’ve always wanted to teach! This way, we can learn together, and you can read all the books you want in braille!” Kíli explained, rapidly, sounding panicked and Fíli felt his anger (anger at the accident, of the fact it was just a slip, one tiny slip, and _he_ was paying for some stranger’s carelessness, anger at the fact he seemed to do nothing _but_ hurt Kíli, anger over the fact every plan he had made for his life ever was decimated) boil over.

He steps towards Kíli’s voice and there is a surprised sound as he trips over his shoes, having removed them and hands catch him on his upper arms, one hand a bit off due to a book, and Fíli…

Fíli shoves at Kíli, sending him stumbling back.

He hears the sound of Kíli hitting the wall, of the mirror rattling a bit, of other things clinking, and he ignores Uncle Thorin’s sharp bark of, “Fíli!”

He can _hear_ the start of another lecture, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t _care_!

Not anymore.

“Shut up!” Fíli snapped, though if it was at his conscience, snapping at him for doing this, or Uncle Thorin, or Kíli, who is apologizing (and why is he apologizing when it is _Fíli_ who needs to apologize?) he doesn’t know.

But he turns his rage on Kíli (who is just trying to help), who is like a lightning rod for it and Fíli _hates_ himself for it. “Shut _up_ Kíli! I don’t need your apologies and I _don’t_ need your help!” Fíli snapped and Kíli was silent from the first sentence.

Kíli is breathing, painfully, raggedly, and there is a noise, the noise that says Kíli is about to cry, or wants to, but won’t.

Fíli’s rage drains away and he moves forward to apologize, or is going to when he hears Kíli run. He tries to go after him, but Uncle Thorin stops him.

“Let him go. You can apologize later, when you’ve _both_ calmed down,” Uncle Thorin stated and Fíli sagged.

*~*~*

_“Hey, how did it go?”_

Kíli let out a sob and he could almost hear how Frodo stilled. _“That bad?”_ Frodo asked softly.

“Worse. I just want to fix what I did wrong, but he won’t even let me touch him,” Kíli sobbed out and Frodo seemed to be thinking.

 _“Kíli, I can’t…look, I grew up my whole life with Uncle Bilbo always being like he is now. Well, back then it was Minty and only after I was old enough to have clear memories of her, but…I can’t help with this. But I know someone who can,”_ Frodo stated, sounding distressed and Kíli let out another sob, shoving his hand over his mouth as he tried to keep it all in.

It wasn’t like he deserved any solace, and he had cried on Uncle Thorin (and Mother) enough since the accident.

“Who?” he sobbed out.

 _“Uncle Bilbo. Want…want me to get him?”_ Frodo asked and Kíli let out a low whimper sound.

 _“Hold on, okay?”_ Frodo asked and he could hear the sounds of someone running through a house.

Knocking and muffled voices and then Bilbo was on the phone.

 _“Kíli? What’s wrong?”_ Bilbo asked.

It was soft and gentle, not like Uncle Thorin’s voice, or Mother’s, or even Father’s. It was the voice of someone who would cuddle him close and bake him cookies and _wouldn’t_ promise that everything would be all right.

Because how could everything be when everything was obviously _not_?

Kíli couldn’t stop his sobs as he explained everything. The accident, of the soda at the top of the slippery stairs, of how he ran from Fíli that day with his acceptance letter, teasing him, and how Kíli had avoided the soda, but Fíli _hadn’t_.

He explained how Fíli woke up with no sight, and now how Fíli didn’t like being touched, but most especially by Kíli.

All the arguments, all the shouting and how Fíli seemed to hate him where once they were so close, like Merry and Pippin.

The entire time, Bilbo spoke soothingly to him, filling Kíli’s mind with thoughts of cookies and bread and jam.

And tea.

Lots of tea.

But he also told Kíli that waking up one day and suddenly being unable to see was very unsettling and maybe, if his brother came down to Bag-End Bookshop one day, he would learn that he wasn’t alone in that regard.

As the conversation wound down, Kíli gained a standing invitation to come to Bag-End Bookshop, or Bilbo’s home, which Bilbo said he’d have Frodo text the address of to him.

They said good-bye after that, once Bilbo seemed reassured that Kíli was going to be okay, ish, and he stared at his phone for a while, wondering why it was easier to talk to Bilbo than his family.

Later, when the muzzy feeling, along with the feeling that his body was too big for his skin settled in, still curled up in his closet, hiding from the world, he decided it was because Bilbo _wasn’t_ family.

And, maybe, because it sounded like he had been where Fíli was now and that gave Kíli hope.

Hope that everything would go back to the way it was.

Except…that was a fool’s hope, wasn’t it?

He curled up tighter in the closet, holding tight to his cell phone, and resting his head against the back wall, behind his dress shirts, feeling exhausted.

And, like every night before, when he closed his eyes, he hoped to open them and find out this had all been a nightmare.


	7. Talks and Tea

When Kíli doesn't answer Darin or Dís's calls for dinner, Thorin goes up to check on him.

He finds Kíli passed out in the back of his closet, curled up tight, and looking as if he cried himself to sleep.

Ever since he stopped coming to Thorin, or Dís, Thorin had suspected Kíli did this nightly.

He let out a low sigh and carefully lifted Kíli up into his arms, the teen stirring slightly. He grunted as he stood up and sighed. "I'm getting too old for this. Or you're getting too big," he muttered and carefully carried Kíli over to the bed, sighing when he saw the book there.

He placed Kíli on the covers first and carefully rescued the book, blinking in surprise to see that it was written by Bilbo Baggins.

He placed it on Kíli's bedside table before he began to work Kíli under the covers. He tucked the teen in and carefully cradled Kíli's head with one hand before he stood up, gently turning on the nightlight that would help Kíli navigate to his door, and then turned off the overhead light before headed downstairs.

"Where's Kíli?" Dís asked as he sat at the table.

Darin looked up as well and Thorin shook his head as Fíli carefully began to poke at his pasta. "He's asleep. I didn't have the heart to wake him up," Thorin answered softly as he began to eat.

Dís sighed and Darin frowned before he looked toward the stairway. “Are you sure we should leave him?” he asked.

“If he gets hungry, he’ll come down to eat. He needed sleep over food right now," Thorin responded as he began to eat, noting that Fíli had stopped eating.

"How were classes today Fíli?" Thorin asked, easily turning the conversation to the blond brother.

"Okay. Ori has been leading me around campus, but he reassures me that once I get my bearings, he won't do so anymore," Fíli answered softly.

Thorin gave a nod and low hum of approval. "You should remember to thank him for taking time out of his day like that. Dís, have you talked to Glóin about that private school Gimli got accepted to yet? The one for the dramatic arts?" Thorin asked and Dís shook her head.

"He still thinks that Gimli should attend the public school that Fíli graduated from," Dís explained and Darin gave a snort.

"I still say that he just doesn’t want his son in music,” Darin retorted and Dís did not hesitate to smack him upside the head.

The muted _thwap_ was easy to hear in the silence that the lack of Kíli brought about, and Thorin felt his lips quirk up at Fíli’s own smile, tiny though it was at the sound. “Darin, you said something about a recording?” Thorin pressed softly, making sure to entirely bypass any questions about Kíli, though no one thought to ask.

Dinner passed similarly, and Fíli was excused when asked.

And if, on his way to his room (third door on the right, he could find it in his sleep), he stopped at Kíli’s, well that was his own business, wasn’t it?

*~*~*

When Frodo invited Kíli back to Bag-End Bookshop, Kíli waivered before he called up his mother to tell her that he was going to a friend’s and that someone at his friend’s would bring him home.

And then he got into the waiting car with Frodo, Aragorn greeting them both warmly as they hopped in.

"Frodo, Merry called in sick today, which means Pippin isn't going to be around either. Think you and Kíli would like to pick up the slack today?" Aragorn asked.

"I don't know how to work in a bookstore," Kíli answered.

"Don't leave boxes in the aisle ways and everything goes by author's last name, then book title. Omitting series. Those go in chronological order," Aragorn answered and Frodo grinned while Kíli hesitated.

"Well...so long as I get back home by eight-thirty," Kíli stated and Frodo beamed.

"Great! Sam’s with his dad today, so it’ll just be us in our age range today. Well, working wise anyway. Dori’s café shop will probably have a few students from school,” Frodo answered, grinning brightly at Kíli, who couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well, sounds like fun,” Kíli offered.

“It is. And, at the end of the day, Bilbo makes us tea,” Aragorn answered as he pulled into a parking space within the employees’ parking in the back next to Legolas’s car.

“While we do the books. It is sort-of like how Uncle Bilbo apologizes,” Frodo explained as he hopped out of the car, bag over his shoulder, and Kíli followed just as fast.

Frodo immediately began to tug on Kíli and soon they were stumbling into the back followed closely by Aragorn to find themselves in a backroom filled with books in need of repair. “What happened to all of these?” Kíli asked as he drifted over to them.

“They’re what Uncle Bilbo calls “rescues”. He buys them from thrift stores and yard sales, occasionally gets a box from people we do not name ever,” Frodo answered as he helped Kíli store his things out of the way and pinned a, “Hi, I’m new!” tag to Kíli’s shirt, writing his name on it underneath.

“Why do you subject your new employees to this? Even when they aren’t an employee?” Kíli asked as Frodo helped clean him up.

“So people don’t expect you to know where anything is,” Frodo explained as he tugged at Kíli’s shirt.

Kíli let him and soon they were carrying boxes of used books out front to fill the used book section with, already moving books around as they need arose.

The pair spent an hour doing this, and for some reason, Kíli felt as if he could keep doing this for _hours_.

When he voiced this opinion to Frodo, the other teen laughed and said that he would probably get his wish.

Kíli wasn’t sure if he should laugh or feel insulted by that, but settled for laughing right along with Frodo.

*~*~*

Kíli blinked sleepily when a cup of tea was placed in front of him and he looked up to find Bilbo smiling in his direction while Dori half-supported him. “Now sit,” Dori ordered and Bilbo laughed as he carefully sat down.

“All right you bossy man!” Bilbo retorted as he settled a bit more into his seat while the Poodle, all gussied up in her harness, settled at Bilbo’s feet.

“Long day?” Kíli asked weakly, unsure if the tea was actually for him now.

“Very. We got two shipments, neither of which were the ones that were supposed to come in today, so I was on the phone, drink your tea Kíli, all day. Boromir was late, which is expected, you’ll learn why if you start coming every day, and Legolas dropped me off before heading to her morning classes. She only works every other morning, despite being our ride. Legolas, we really need to change that,” Bilbo explained, Kíli surprised he was able to keep his vein of thought, even when addressing separate issues.

“Now, now Bilbo, you know why I can’t. Most of my classes are in the morning,” Legolas called as she walked over, gently touching Bilbo’s hand before pressing a kiss to Bilbo’s forehead, leaving a lipstick mark there.

Bilbo sighed at that and swatted at Legolas as she walked around him, touching Kíli’s hand. “How are you dear?” Legolas asked and Kíli smiled up at her.

“Well, thank you,” Kíli answered and Legolas smiled brightly at that before she moved back to where the registers were.

“Bilbo, we’re missing a hundred dollars from the till,” Boromir called and Bilbo let out what was possibly a curse in what was possibly a dead language, which thoroughly impressed Kíli.

“It can only be Tristan,” Bilbo responded with a sigh and Kíli twisted around to watch Boromir nod while Aragorn leaned over on the counter, Arwen curling over him, her chin resting on his shoulder, her black hair pulled back into a high ponytail so that it swung with each shift of her body, arms wrapped tight around Aragorn’s waist.

“There’s also the matter of the five-hundred dollars still missing from Sunday, the fifty from Monday, the twenty-eight from Tuesday, and the sixty from yesterday! Wednesday was the only day we kept all the money that we should and every time we were all crawling on our knees searching for missing receipts! With that in mind, that doesn’t explain yesterday, as Tristan didn’t work yesterday,” Boromir responded and Bilbo let out a long sigh.

“Who is Tristan?” Kíli asked.

“Tristan is a part-time worker with flexible hours who works the register,” Aragorn explained as he drank from his own mug of tea while Arwen twisted her head to kiss him on the jawline, then stole the cup from his hand to finish it off.

“I call him in on busy days. Days where no one can watch the till,” Boromir continued.

“Aragorn isn’t allowed to touch the registers after the Incident last year,” Legolas finished off and Aragorn glared at Legolas.

“One time,” Aragorn groused.

“It was multiple and you know it,” Frodo argued as he settled down next to Bilbo.

“Shouldn’t you call the police?” Kíli asked.

“Not without evidence,” Frodo answered and Bilbo sighed.

“I hate when I have to fire people,” Bilbo muttered.

“It is why the same people have worked here for near on a decade,” Frodo explained with a smirk.

Bilbo reached out and found Frodo’s arm before, lightly, smacking him on the shoulder. “So…we fire all the part-time workers who have worked in the last couple of weeks when this started and hope that stops the problem?” Boromir asked.

Bilbo sighed and shook his head a little. “Try and find out who it is. I don’t want to deal with possible lawsuits on that,” he answered and Boromir nodded as he made a mark on his clipboard.

“What time is it?” Kíli asked and Dori hummed a bit.

“8:20, why?” Dori asked.

“Ah, shit! I need to get home!” Kíli shouted, causing Bilbo to jump and Aragorn to snort as he stood up slightly, Arwen standing up straight with him and, now standing, made it known that, to keep her chin on Aragorn’s shoulder, she had to curl over slightly to do so.

“Well, Arwen and I can give you a ride. If that’s all right with you Dori?” Aragorn questioned.

“I’m just a cousin of his father. But you’re a safer driver than Arwen, so, so long as you keep to the wheel, it’ll be fine,” Dori answered and Bilbo let out a low sigh.

“We _agreed_ Dori,” Bilbo muttered while Frodo snickered.

“Agreed to what?” Kíli asked, even as Dori waved him off a bit.

“You agreed, Bilbo. And none of your business Kíli. Away to home with you,” Dori responded and Kíli pouted until Frodo leaned over to whisper, “I’ll tell you later.”

With that, Kíli was being herded out, the rest of the group waving and wishing them good night as they rushed out the back, Kíli barely remembering to get his bag for school before he was in the back of Aragorn’s car once more and they were driving off.

Arwen was bright and warm, trying to urge him to talk, but Kíli couldn’t unstick the words from his throat and spent most of his time flushing and stammering.

*~*~*

Thorin watched as Kíli was dropped off and the teen rushed inside.

He glanced at his watch before he ducked away from the living room’s front window to wait for Kíli near the hallway.

The front door’s deadbolt clicked and Kíli was inside, locking the door behind him before he began to put everything away and into its place.

As he rushed through and toward the stairs, Thorin called out, “You’re late.”

Kíli stopped dead, his head resting on the banister before he turned around. “I know, I’m sorry. I…I hadn’t realized how late it was getting until it already was,” Kíli apologized and Thorin gave a short nod.

“See that it doesn’t happen again,” Thorin stated, letting the first time infraction go.

“Thank you Uncle Thorin,” Kíli answered.

“Did you eat dinner?”

Kíli nodded in agreement and Thorin nodded in return. “Go to bed then. I’ll interrogate you in the morning,” Thorin stated and Kíli nodded.

“Yes Uncle Thorin,” Kíli agreed and then he was running up the stairs.

Thorin shook his head at that and sighed before he turned back to his home office.

He had a few numbers to finish before he went to bed or he would _never_ get to sleep.

And if those numbers had kept him up as he waited for Kíli, well…that was his own little secret. He was sure the only reason Dís and Darin weren’t yelling at Kíli was due to the fact that neither were home, having gone out for date night.

(Kíli’s late return remains a secret between Thorin and Kíli from Dís and Darin when they return. Thorin sees no reason to tell them, especially when it has been smoothed over already.)

(Besides, Kíli needed someone outside of the family to talk to and he had obviously found that person.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started drinking rum and coke at around "parking next to Legolas's car".
> 
> I haven't had alcohol in a few months, I'm allowed to indulge after the day I've had.
> 
> I also ate chips though.
> 
> It was awesome.


	8. Interrogations and Secrets

"Spill," Thorin demanded the moment Kíli, blurry eyed and barely coherent, stumbled into the kitchen.

"Wha?" Kíli whined, staring up at Thorin.

"Yesterday. Where were you, why were you late, and who drove you," Thorin explained and Kíli sat down heavily at the kitchen counter as he yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth.

Thorin gently cuffed him upside the head and Kíli grumbled a bit before he yawned again, this time covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Bag-End Bookshop, lost track of time, and Aragorn, one of the guys who works for Frodo's uncle," Kíli explained through more yawns.

Thorin reached out and gently pressed a hand to Kíli's head, eyeing him. "Why so tired today nephew?" he inquired and Kíli shifted a bit before he ducked his head.

"Couldn't sleep last night," Kíli mumbled.

"Want to stay home today, see if you can?" Thorin questioned gently as he heard Fíli starting to move up above.

Kíli shook his head a bit. "No. I'm up now," he answered and there was a thump sound, followed by a curse, as Fíli tripped over something he possibly left lying on his floor.

Thorin sighed and looked up. "I'm getting quite tired of this stubborness," Thorin growled.

Kíli just hummed before he began to work on heating up the scrambled eggs that had been made last night and saturating them in cheese. By the time Fíli had stumbled his way down, refusing to use any type of assistence, despite Thorin asking him, twice, if he needed any help, Kíli was finished eating. "Do you want a ride Kíli?" Thorin asked as he worked on his own breakfast of coffee, toast, and omlet while Fíli worked his way to the kitchen.

"No, I'll walk. I'll see you after school Fíli," Kíli called and was rushing away as he did so, just barely managing to dance around Fíli before he was out the door.

Fíli stared in the direction of the sound of the front door before Thorin sighed. "What do you want for breakfast?" Thorin asked, pulling his elder nephew's attention to him.

"Does he hate me now?" Fíli asked instead of answering Thorin.

Normally, Thorin would just repeat the question.

Normally, his nephews weren't dancing around each other like a leaf on the wind, and  _normally_ they would have fixed this by now.

"No. If anything, he hates himself. What do you want for breakfast?" Thorin answered.

This time, when Fíli asked instead of answering, Thorin just repeated his question.

There were some things he would not attempt to fix and the brothers' relationship was one of them.

*~*~*

“Spill,” Kíli demanded as he slid into his seat across from Frodo while Sam glowered at him, Pippin and Merry quickly joining their little group.

“Spill what?” Frodo asked and Kíli groaned.

“The thing! Bilbo said, ‘we promised’ or something and Dori told me to leave it alone and you said you would explain it later,” Kíli explained and around the table came a chorus of ‘oh’s.

“Oh, that. Well, it kind-of started with Dori having met Uncle Bilbo back when Uncle Bilbo was in college, so before he opened _Bag-End Bookshop_. Almost named it _Erebor_ , but Dori said that sounded silly, before promptly deciding to name his café _The Hidden Door_ , to which they got into an argument, which was more them yelling tea names at each other, but I digress. But, Bilbo was kind-of…angry back then. A bit, and Dori was working at a café and…well, Bilbo was working on not being angry so much, and people aren’t…nice. Not really. It was worse back then, or so Uncle Bilbo tells me,” Frodo began and paused as he tapped the back of his spork against his lips.

Kíli waited patiently and Frodo nodded a bit. “But Dori met him then and helped get him to rights and then Bilbo was kind-of dating this asshole, who Bilbo never talks about, because I think…I think he dated the asshole again, before I moved in with him, but recently, in the grand scheme of things and I think…I think he’s embarrassed by it and Legolas won’t tell, of course. But, anyway, after they had been friends for a while, Dori introduced him to his friend, who was also his cousin, Bofur. They had an okay relationship, but they were better off as oddly close friends. I call him Uncle Bofur, sometimes, and one of the things that kind-of ended the relationship was that Bofur didn’t really want to introduce Uncle Bilbo to his family. Turns out his cousin, Bifur, was deaf and he didn’t know how Uncle Bilbo would take that and…well, Bifur and Uncle Bilbo kind-of met after Bombur, Bofur’s younger brother, came with Dori to work in his café in the shop and Arwen works with them and sometimes my world feels very small considering how many people I know, know other people in my life through the strangest connections,” Frodo explained and then he grinned.

“Didn’t end there of course. Dori kind-of kept trying to play matchmaker for Uncle Bilbo until Uncle Bilbo put his foot down. Though it seems he’s started it up again,” Frodo finished and Kíli found that he was leaning half over the table.

“What do you mean?” Kíli asked, flushing at how far over he had leaned.

“With that Thorin guy. Turns out Dori was the one who sent him to the bookstore. Makes sense, as he was looking for Greyhame Audio Books, and we’re the only nearby supplier. Gandalf is a friend of Uncle Bilbo’s mother, _but_ …Dori knows him. Admitted to sending the guy and everything and _everyone_ knows how Uncle Bilbo is about deep voices,” Frodo answered.

“It’s a kink,” Pippin stated and Kíli felt as if he was being thrown back in time.

“Pip, do you even know what a kink _is_?” Merry asked.

 _(“Kee, do you even know what a kink_ is _?” Fíli asked.)_

“…A pain in your back?” Pippin questioned.

_(“…A pain in the neck?” Kíli questioned.)_

Merry let out  a tiny laugh as he yanked his fourteen year old cousin closer to him and buried his face into Pippin’s hair before he released him. “Never change Pip,” Merry stated.

_(“Never change, Kee.”)_

“Kíli?” Frodo called and he blinked a bit to the realization that he was staring at nothing, that Merry and Pippin had left.

He looked over at Frodo, and realized the entire cafeteria was empty. “Um, what?” he asked.

“Bell rang for class. Time to go,” Frodo stated.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna go home. I’m…I’m not feeling very well,” Kíli stated and quickly stood, dumping his nearly full lunch into the trash before he hurried out, ignoring Frodo’s calls to wait.

To come back.

Kíli never went to the front office; he just left campus and the minute his feet hit the sidewalk, he took off running.

To where, he could not say.

He just knew he had to run away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....
> 
> From June 2nd to July 2nd all of my fics will be on hiatus so I can focus on my original work.
> 
> When I return on July 3rd, I will have some chapters ready to post, but seriously...original work.
> 
> Like, my own novels.
> 
> (I wanna get published, which means writing EVERYTHING I have in my had that is original works and throw as many darts as I can till I get published and then hopefully convince my publisher to publish everything. I am looking forward to this.)


	9. Phone Calls (Child Abuse)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Generally I try to not answer people's comments until I start writing the next chapter, and Ashen was who I was going to update next. However, in the middle of writing the chapter, the muses immediately began pouting and whining and refused to be helpful.
> 
> Instead, they started spouting off all of my Modern AU stuff, so "Degrees" got updated instead, despite being the one after Ashen.
> 
> So...sorry Ashen readers.
> 
> Also, Denethor. That is all.

Boromir winced as Bag-End Bookshop’s phone rang, followed by Frodo’s muffled cursing. Despite the rush hour time, Boromir quickly picked up the phone, thankful that Bilbo had already gone home with a headache.

The scolding Frodo would have gotten for his language would have put him into a worse mood.

“Bag-End Bookshop, Boromir speaking, how can I help you?” he greeted as he nodded to Sam to take over his register, the blond boy taking over quickly.

 _“This is Thorin Durin. I was wondering if Kíli Chester-Durin was there,”_ Mr. Durin greeted and Boromir started a bit.

“Well…I haven’t see him, but one second,” Boromir answered and waved for Pippin, their volunteer (and today he was wearing his ‘Pip’ badge) for the day (and one day, Boromir is sure that he’ll be working there, but it is not this day, thankfully) to the front desk.

“Yes Boromir?” he asked eagerly and Boromir couldn’t help but ruffle Pippin’s hair before he asked, “Has Kíli been in today?”

“I haven’t seen him since lunch, but I can go in the back and ask Frodo, if you want,” Pippin responded.

“Knock first,” Boromir stated and Pippin scampered off to the break-room.

He didn’t knock and Boromir sighed as he heard Frodo shout, “Pip!”

The door was then shut and Boromir pinched the bridge of his nose as he waited. The break-room door slammed and then Pippin was tripping out, shaking his head. “Frodo hasn’t seen him since lunch either. He said that _Kíli_ said he was going to the nurse’s office since he wasn’t feeling well, but Frodo thinks that something that happened today upset him and he might’ve ditched. He’s been real upset about how much Fíli seems to hate him now, or something, which makes no sense, because Merry says that Kíli and Fíli are like the pair of us, us being Merry and I, not you and I Boromir, because you’re more like the big brother we’ve always wanted, and I know no matter what I do, Merry’ll always love me, even if I did something really bad,” Pippin explained in that usual rapid-fire, meandering way of his.

Boromir nodded. “Thanks Pippin. Sci-fi needs revamping,” he stated and Pippin squealed before running off.

“I’m sorry Mr. Durin, Kíli’s not here,” Boromir answered and he heard a muffled curse on the other end.

_“Well, thank you. If he comes in?”_

“I’ll call you Mr. Durin. We still have your number on file,” Boromir answered, not saying that it would take a bit if digging.

 _“Thank you,”_ Thorin answered and then there was dial tone.

Boromir returned the phone to the cradle and opened another register to take the overflow of customers.

They were going to be needing to replenish their used book section soon.

Very soon.

Boromir resisted the urge to sigh before he just nodded at Aragorn, who winced slightly before heading into the back.

Merry and Pippin could take care of the floor, along with Merida, and everything would be fine.

And _if_ Kíli came in, Boromir would have _words_ with the teen. And maybe shanghai him into working off the worry every day after school.

Especially since it seemed to bring the same sort of peace Boromir himself had first found at Bag-End Bookshop during his high school years, and continued to find to this day.

But first, he had to actually enter the bookshop.

*~*~*~*

Legolas hummed as she locked up the last of the cash registers while Boromir frowned at the locked doorway. “What’s wrong?” Legolas asked, the dusky light signaling they had closed early, but the deadness of the store suggesting it had been a wise choice.

“Kíli’s missing,” Boromir exclaimed and Legolas let out a sharp sound of surprise before she leaned on the counter, her skirt rippling softly around her legs.

“How do we know? Did Frodo say?” Legolas asked and Boromir shook his head.

“His uncle called, asking for him. He isn’t here, and Frodo doesn’t know where he is,” Boromir answered and she frowned as she twirled one of her small braids around her fingers.

“Legolas?” he questioned.

“Did anyone call Bilbo?” she asked.

“No,” Boromir responded and she immediately pulled out her cell, sliding things along and Boromir sighed.

“If you have money to buy that, I think Bilbo’s paying you too much,” Boromir teased.

“I live with him. And he bought it for me. _You_ trying arguing him next week when he does the same with you,” Legolas answered as she focused back on the touch phone.

“I doubt he’ll buy me that phone/music player/video…oh, Eru, he is, isn’t he?” Boromir responded, only to pale.

“Yep. Pretend to be surprised,” Legolas stated as she lifted the cell phone to her ear and Boromir groaned as he thunked his head against the counter.

He didn’t try to shove Legolas’s hand away as she began to massage his skull.

It felt nice anyway. “Hello Bilbo. I was wondering is there any chance Kíli is with you?” Legolas asked and she hummed a bit at the answer.

“Oh, smack him upside the head then and tell him to call his uncle. He’s probably grounded. And Frodo accidentally messed up that commission, so he had to restart, so we get a free painting, where do you want to put it?” Legolas answered and Boromir let out another groan, though this turned appreciative as Legolas’s hand shifted down to the back of his neck, calming his frazzled nerves.

“I’ll tell Boromir. Do you want me to drive Kíli home?” Legolas responded and there was a low hum.

“All right. See you in a bit then,” Legolas answered and Boromir sighed as he felt Legolas’s hand tug at his hair.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Denathor hit Faramir and Faramir ran straight to Bilbo. He’s staying the night, but it’ll take you talking to him to convince him to stay there instead of going back,” Legolas stated and Boromir sighed as he stood up.

He shifted and pressed his forehead to Legolas’s shoulder. “Damn it,” he hissed and Legolas pat his head.

“Hurry up with the books and whatnot. And figure out who it is Bilbo is going to bringing up on charges,” Legolas stated.

“You know he won’t, he’ll just fire that person,” Boromir answered as he pulled back with a low sigh.

“A girl can dream, right?” Legolas answered with a smile.

“A girl can dream,” Boromir responded and began to head into the back to balance the books.

*~*~*

Thorin sighed as he pulled up in front of the house that looked like it stepped right out of the Victorian Era, only more sprawling.

Set back from the road, the entire yard was surrounded by a fancy ‘fence’ of stone with metal decoration on the top.

Stepping out of the car, he was greeted by loud, boisterous barking, and the black behemoth of a dog from the bookshop barreling at the fence line.

Thorin stilled at the loud, and continuous, warning barks that were silenced by a, “Thank you Strider!”

He looked up to the porch to find the owner of the bookshop standing there and Strider huffed before he flopped onto the ground. “Mr. Baggins, my nephew gave me this address,” Thorin greeted when Bilbo remained silent.

He startled and then nodded rapidly. “Oh, right, sorry Mr. Durin. Kíli said that no one would miss him, but I think that might have been a mistake on his part, or there was a miscommunication. Come in,” he responded and Thorin hesitated.

“I told you to come. Strider won’t move from that spot if you enter, but he’s a great burglar deterrent. I still don’t know how Frodo managed to find him, beyond ‘on the street’,” Bilbo reassured and Thorin opened the gate, stepping through.

Strider ignored him, beyond staring at him.

With that, Thorin calmed, shut the gate firmly behind him and headed up. “I am so sorry to have caused you worry. Kíli might be, but I won’t speak for another. Please, come in. Dinner’s on the table, but considering how late everyone is running, I am thinking of throwing it back in the oven to keep it warm,” Bilbo greeted, and Thorin gave a small nod.

“It is not your fault. His father didn’t bother forwarding Kíli’s text about how he was at a friend’s. My sister is reaming him out now,” Thorin explained as they entered the house.

“Shoes on a free mat, please,” Bilbo stated as he walked into the hallway, a voice Thorin didn’t recognize curling through the air, along with heavy smells of cooking.

“Kíli, your uncle is here!” Bilbo shouted and there was a startled squak, followed by a thump.

Bilbo sighed. “I better make sure Faramir didn’t drop his portfolio on Kíli’s foot. It is the third archway on the right; dining room. It is the place everything is laid out,” Bilbo explained as he continued down the hallway, just as Kíli burst forward from that estimated area of the doorway.

“Uncle Thorin, wah, sorry Bilbo, I am so sorry! Father said he’d tell everyone, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Kíli explained as he stumbled and slid his way up to Thorin, grabbing at the business suit jacket, trembling and apologetic.

Thorin didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tight around Kíli. “Next time, just text myself or your mother,” Thorin stated.

“I’m sorry, but…business meeting. You said that and Mom was talking about how today was so busy and I _knew_ Father would pick up, because he was on break, usually around that time, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kíli stated, burying his head into Thorin’s chest, even as Thorin clutched at him in return.

Down the hallway, a boy with lighter brown hair than Kíli’s was peeking out, until Bilbo simply said, “Your designs?”

“My designs!”

Bilbo shook his head at that and focused forward. “You two are more than welcome to join us for dinner, if you wish. On top of Faramir, the boy there, and myself, there is Boromir, Faramir’s older brother, Frodo, my nephew, and Legolas, my pseudo daughter. Nowhere near a full house, and even if it were, there’s always room for two more,” Bilbo stated, even as Thorin shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry. Not this night, but thank you for watching after Kíli,” Thorin answered.

“It was no trouble, Mr. Durin. Have a good night. Faramir, can you call Strider around?” Bilbo called.

“Yes, sir, Uncle Bilbo,” Faramir called and there was more slipping stomps as Faramir ran out of the room, heading to the back of the house, even as Thorin raised an eyebrow at Bilbo, not ready to relinquish his nephew just yet.

“I thought we were safe?” Thorin inquired.

“You are. Strider just has a habit of trying to see people to the gate, which includes dogging their steps and trying to herd them out,” Bilbo explained and Thorin gave a short nod.

“I thank you again for looking after my nephew,” Thorin stated, even as the sound of claws clicking on wooden floorboards filled the air.

“No trouble Mr. Durin,” Bilbo repeated and Thorin released Kíli, who immediately retreated to gather his things, returning quickly.

He paused and then turned to Bilbo. He seemed unsure and then he tapped Bilbo’s shoulder before pulling the smaller man into a firm hug.

Bilbo did not hesitate to hug back. “Thank you Bilbo,” he stated and turned, quickly heading out the door.

Thorin gave a quick good-bye and then was out the door as well.

“We, young man, are going to have an in-depth discussion of who is and who _isn’t_ appropriate to text, or call, when you are not going to be home for dinner,” Thorin stated and Kíli’s shoulders slumped slightly.

“Yes Uncle,” Kíli agreed and Thorin made sure the gate was shut tight before he got into the car.

As they pulled away, a van, followed closely by a motorcycle, pulled into the driveway that was next to the house from the opposite direction they were headed.

*~*~*~*

Despite Thorin’s numerous attempts, the drive home was quiet and slightly tense.

It only got worse when they got home, as the first thing Dís did was yell at Kíli, who, instead of yelling back as he would have done once upon a time, hunched in on himself instead and let her yell.

The shouting ended with Kíli being grounded for three days for ditching school and left Thorin tempted to buy a small house and move there so Kíli would have more than a bookshop and a stranger’s house to escape to when things grew overwhelming.

(Neither Fíli, or Kíli, talked to each other the entire night.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *overly innocent voice*
> 
> Merida? No, totally pulled that name out of hat. Totally and completely.
> 
> That was in no way, shape, or form, a mini-crossover thing at _all_. Nope, nope, nope!
> 
> Totally not.
> 
> *end overly innocent voice*
> 
> Okay, yeah it was. I've got a very proud, rich, Scottish heritage and it was the first Disney Princess movie about mother-daughter bonding.
> 
> On that note; in the previous chapter, Frodo said they called it _The Hidden Door_ , but in the first chapter it was called "Rivers Cafe."
> 
> Rivers Cafe is actually the name.
> 
> Frodo wasn't paying attention to the argument and has never actually paid attention to the sign that says the cafe's name, so he thinks it is called _The Hidden Door_.
> 
> However, he rarely uses the name and no one bothers to correct him, so most of the time the names are used interchangeably.
> 
> (Also, I do not own Disney, or Disney related characters. Thus, fanfiction.)
> 
> Also, Legolas refuses to react like a normal person. He's got to be cool, calm, and collected.
> 
> Brat.


	10. A Realization and an Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the song in this, but it is sort-of a surprise.
> 
> You'll know it when you see it.

Kíli yawned as he made his way downstairs, pausing when he saw Father asleep on the couch.

He was asleep, blond hair a mess, and looking very much like the rock star back on the rise. Kíli paused on the steps and sat down, staring at his Father, and considered his life _with_ his father.

Darin Chester wasn't around often, but Kíli never doubted that his father loved him, or his mother, and  _especially_  didn't doubt his love for Fíli.

Mostly because Fíli was the one who had eagerly sat with their father in the living room, eagerly learning everything their father would teach. Kíli mostly just watched, but when Fíli set aside the guitar, Kíli had picked it up. He had learned on his own and had filled notebooks with lyrics and music. But, by the time he was ready to show any of it to the one person he had wanted to impress, his father was off and running.

Only Fíli knew of what Kíli had gone through, of the guitar and the box of notebooks under the bed.

Kíli's fingers tapped on his thigh and then he stood up, making his way back to his room silently.

He dropped down on his stomach and pulled out the cedar chest out from under the bed, the one Kíli had made himself, and opened it to find the notebooks with their written on bindings still staring up at him. He hummed a bit and worked out  _Lyrics 4_ , before he opened it, flattening it to a song without music, then pulled out one of the notebooks that had blank sheet music.

He grabbed a pencil and placed it on the lyrics notebook and then he took a deep breath.

Only then did he reach under the bed to pull out his old guitar still in the case. He opened up the case and pulled the pitch pipe out of the spot for it on the lid and held it in his mouth as he pulled out the guitar.

Settling into a comfortable position, he picked a pick out of the case before he twirled it over his fingers, grinning a bit at that.

Shifting in place, he blew on the pitch pipe, getting the "A" before he began to work on tuning the guitar. He twisted it around slightly, thankful when none of the strings snapped.

Probably also damn lucky, considering that he hadn't touched the guitar in a few months.

Once settled and tuned, he pulled the pipe out of his mouth and began to work on the intro until he was satisfied.

“Every day that passes, makes me feel alive. Rushing down the interstate, as time goes by. But when I stop to think, and watch the world go by, I can only wonder why.

“Why can I only feel alive, speeding my life away…”

Kíli paused and shook his head. “No, no. Something about ‘speeding down the highway of life’ might be too cliché. Ugh, this is what I get for writing shit when Fíli was working on getting his driver’s license,” he muttered and frowned, before he eyed the work, already getting out the pencil to work in the lyric corrections.

“Every day that passes, speeding down life’s highway, I can’t help but feel alive. But the moment I stopped to think, I couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Why do I only feel alive, racing too fast to catch the sights? Why do I only feel alive when ev-ry-thing’s a blur?

“Because racing down that highway, and forgetting to look around, racing down that highway, don’t slow down. Because once you start careening, it is so very hard to stop. Speeding down, the highway of life,” he sung and grinned a bit, before he reworked some of the music.

He bobbed his head slightly and began to work on the next stanza. “I want to stop and stare, and look around, but how can I, when I don’t know how to stop…

“Racing down the highway, watching my life become a blur. Racing down the highway, never seeing the details. Racing down, the highway of life.”

Kíli grinned as he continued working on the music, reworking a few measures, before he set the pencil down.

“I didn’t know you could play,” Father stated and Kíli yelped, gripping his guitar as he twisted to stare at his open doorway.

He hadn’t even realized he hadn’t closed it and now he was staring up at his dad, clutching tightly at his guitar. “Um…yeah. I…just taught myself. Wanted to surprise you,” Kíli explained softly, already knowing that his father was going to piece together the puzzle.

The chest was still open and the notebooks, all carefully titled were there. A chest filled with songs and work that Kíli had only ever shared with Fíli.

He could see when it clicked. “That was Fíli’s. You’ve…you taught yourself at ten years old?” Father asked and Kíli nodded slowly.

“You’ve been playing guitar for six years?” he asked and Kíli nodded again.

“Writing songs for five and a half years,” Kíli added.

“Lyrics since I was six and I first saw you practicing in the garage before Mother hauled me inside,” he continued quietly, strumming his guitar idly as he stared at the chest in front of him.

He looked up when he heard a movement of cloth and watched his father sit down next to him. “What did you mean, surprise me?” he asked and Kíli looked back down at his guitar, letting his fingers dance across the wood calmly.

“I just wanted to…surprise you. Make you look at me at like you looked at Fíli. And then you weren’t here and there wasn’t anyone to surprise,” Kíli answered softly, plucking at one of the strings, the “A” string actually.

His father sighed. “Kíli, you never had to surprise me,” he stated softly.

“Never did anyway,” he stated.

“Yes you have. You have in not getting jealous of Fíli, or of dragging me away from work, and not holding a grudge over the fact I spent more time with your older brother and my work than you, and the fact you taught yourself how to play guitar at age 10, and kept it from everyone, except probably Fíli, and…you surprise me because I was a horrible father to you and I’m just realizing now you are more Thorin’s son than mine. And what surprises me most about that is the fact I’m not upset by this, because he was there for you when I wasn’t, and I’ll always be indebted to him for that,” he stated and Kíli turned on his father.

“Dad,” he choked out and his father carefully pulled him in for a hug.

“I love you, I love you so much and I’m so sorry you felt that you had to hide a part of yourself in hopes of surprising me,” Father whispered and Kíli, hesitantly, hugged him back.

They stayed like that for a few moments before his father pushed away. “Come on. Breakfast time,” he stated and stood up, even as Kíli nodded slowly.

Father left the room and Kíli ran his fingers over the neck of the guitar before he put it back into the case.

“I haven’t heard you play in months.”

Kíli let out a startled sound and turned to stare up at Fíli who nearly filled his doorway. “Mahal, Fíli, don’t scare me like that!” Kíli stated as he shut the case.

“Sorry,” Fíli answered and Kíli just packed his chest back up before he shoved it against the foot of his bed.

“Not a problem,” Kíli responded as he stood and turned to Fíli.

There was silence stretching between them, strained and fraying at the edges, and fraying more every day.

“Not…not about right now. Well, yes, right now too, but…I’m sorry. For everything. Because you haven’t earned, nor deserved, my ire. I lashed out at you because you were an easy target, you were _there_ , and that was not fair, or kind, to you. And I’m sorry, and I will regret how I treated you since I lost my sight for the rest of my life,” he explained and Kíli stared at him.

He stared and he was moving before he could censor himself. He touched Fíli’s elbow, which earned a tiny startle and then he was hugging Fíli as tightly as he could, burying his head into his big brother’s shoulder and trying to curl himself around the blond.

“I forgive you Fíli. I’ll _always_ forgive you,” Kíli answered as he clung to his brother and was clung to in return.

It didn’t erase all the hurt Kíli had felt by his brother’s actions and words, but it did start to heal it.

And that was enough for now.


	11. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler arc chapter.
> 
> So it is a short.

Thorin watched Kíli maneuver a guitar around on his lap, sitting cross-legged on the old bench he had built for the pair, a smile quirking at the corners of his mouth as he watched Fíli made his way to the bench. There was a laugh from Fíli as he tumbled onto the ground before he fought his way up to sit next to Kíli on the bench while Kíli worked on adjusting his guitar.

Thorin leaned against the window and watched as Kíli began to play his guitar again, though this time it was out in the open. “Did you know about that?” Dís asked, resting her chin on Thorin’s shoulder to watch her sons.

“Which part? That they’d resolve it themselves? Always do,” Thorin answered.

“No, about the guitar. And the fact we know that but my husband doesn’t is disturbing. How do you think Kíli will be?” she retorted and Thorin sighed softly before he shrugged his sister off of his shoulder with a laugh.

“He’ll recover. Eventually. Until Fíli snaps again and rails on him and snarls and hopefully _doesn’t_ hit Kíli, because if he does, I may have to actually beat up my blind nephew. In the meantime, they’re fine and Fíli needs to talk about this. To someone. Anyone, really, because at this point, I…I’m lost,” Thorin explained and stood up normally before he disappeared from the window to leave Dís to stare at her sons with a small frown on her face.

Thorin, in the meantime, tried to get in contact with a psychologist.

Hopefully this…Mrs. Galadhrim who had been suggested to him by Dr. Peredhel would be able to help.

*~*~*~*

Legolas smiled as she settled at the table nearest to the window with her tea as she stared out the window watching the people walk past.

Bilbo was in the Sci-fi section with Aragorn, taking some of the books down and putting them in the back to free up space for some better sellers, while the rest enjoyed the slow time that was the early afternoon. Such as Legolas, who was enjoying tea while Boromir was working on the financial books, trying to find the imbezzler.

Personally, Legolas thought Bilbo...

"Legolas," a male voice greeted behind her and she whirled around to look up at a man who was her near older replica.

His hair was cropped short and his eyes were a darker green, and he was wearing a suit that was a perfect cut and…

“Father,” Legolas breathed out.


	12. Confrontation, Comfort, and Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has cissexism, abuse, and trans hate as well as some personal crisis and self-doubt.

"Legolas," her father returned and settled across from her without so much as a by your leave.

Then again, he never had before either. He was a man who had always stepped into the room with the belief that his was in the right, even when proven wrong. Legolas had memories packed full of her father's cold countenance that grew even colder the longer that Legolas failed to live up to her father’s increasingly high expectations.

She stared at her father even as she stirred her tea pointlessly while he leaned forward, eyes harsh and searching. “I see you are keeping up this…farce,” her father stated and Legolas felt her back stiffen at his words.

“It is not a farce. It is who I am,” Legolas responded calmly and jumped when her father’s hand came crashing down on the table in a rare loss of temper.

She could count on one hand how many times her father had lost his temper in a public place and in front of her, combined, on one hand and still have fingers to spare. “This _thing_ you are doing, it is a disgrace, not only to yourself as my only son and heir, but to the Family name! Your little attention whoring ploy will not work, so get your act together, stop putting on all this getup, and come back home, because this little act has gotten old, am I clear?” her father replied, ripping into her soul with every word.

She had not thought it possible for him to still hold sway over her, but he did.

But his words had done more than hurt, they had also light a spark there that roared to life and she stood up suddenly, her chair making that grinding noise that caused the muscle under her father’s eye to twitch. “You have made quite a few mistakes in your drivel there. The first is the fact that this is not a thing! This is how I feel, this is who I am! Second thing is the fact I am _not_ your son, I am your _daughter_ , and I could only be a disgrace to the Family name _if I still used it_! Since I was 18, my name has not been Legolas Kingwood, but Legolas Greenleaf and I have been _happy_ this entire time until you came oozing back into my life! So, Mister Kingwood, I kindly request that you ooze your way back out of my life and _stay_ _out of it_!” Legolas snapped.

She then took a deep breath and turned on her heel, a surprising feat considering she was wearing her favorite four inch heels, and strode away from Thranduil.

She murmured an apology to Boromir as she passed him and continued walking until she got to the store room to get a box of biographies.

She had a job to do and so long as she did so, she wouldn’t have to think about her confrontation with Thranduil.

And the less she thought about it, the better.

*~*~*

Boromir watched Legolas go and then snapped his hand out to catch ‘Thranduil’ before he followed Legolas. “Unhand me,” the man ordered and Boromir merely gave a thin lipped smile.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, as I am about to escort you from the premises. Dori would do it, but he’s busy, and Arwen would break your jaw,” Boromir answered and began to haul the man toward the front door.

He would admit that he took great enjoyment out of throwing Thranduil out of the store, should anyone ask, but most of his enjoyment at the act was smothered by his worry for Legolas.

“Bilbo!” he called as he speed-walked to the Sci-fi section, ignoring the cheers from the café customers.

This was something Bilbo needed to know.

Now.

*~*~*

Bilbo resisted the urge to frown as he heard Legolas’s footsteps practically storm up the stairs followed shortly by her bedroom door being shut with great force.

Whatever was said, it had not been good, though Bilbo had already known that from Boromir’s thinly contained rage that shook under every word and the way Arwen cracked her knuckles when asked.

Dori’s threats to throw Thranduil through the window should he come around again told Bilbo it was worse than he had originally imagined and it had taken everything Bilbo had not to drag Legolas home.

Mainly because Bilbo couldn’t drive.

So, closing time came and now they were here, with Frodo already off at Sam’s house, allowing Bilbo to focus on the crisis of identity Legolas was probably going through.

He sighed as he pat Myrtle’s side once her harness was off and the Poodle immediately trotted off to lay with Minty while Bilbo shoved Strider out of his way.

The massive dog whined at the shove, but went willingly as Bilbo made his way to the kitchen.

He was going to need a lot of tea to get through this rocky patch as well as the family quilt.

Legolas was going to need both.

*~*~*

Legolas hadn’t been able to still since she had locked herself away in her room.

She had originally done so in the hopes of relaxing, but even after she had thrown open her windows and pulled a book from the shelf, she had not been able to find peace. After failing to calm that way, she had taken to pacing restlessly around her room in pointless paths.

Each time she turned, her skirt brushed against the back of her knees like a skittering spider, which always made her startle, and she was quite close to chopping off all her hair as it kept whipping into her eyes, which hurt.

Everything that she had come to accept and cherish about herself was now itching at her skin and making her feel uncomfortable _again_ and she stilled, covering her face with her hands.

She had just gotten comfortable with herself a short time ago, comparatively. It had taken _years_ of gentle understanding and quiet acceptance from the people in Legolas’s life for her to even remotely be comfortable in her own skin, let alone actively accept it, and one visit from Thranduil had ruined it.

She sighed and scrubbed at her face.

If only she wasn’t so…

She jumped when there was a knock, kind-of, at the bedroom door followed by Bilbo calling, “Legolas, I have tea.”

Legolas shook her head and her hands travelled to grip her hair as she called back, “I don’t want tea Bilbo.”

Her fingers began to twist through her pale blonde hair roughly sending sharp spikes of pain across her skull that made her wince and extract her fingers from the tangles she had created.

Ripping her hair out by the roots would solve nothing and may actually cause more problems, so she just needed to _breathe_ and not _think_ and…

“I also have the family quilt,” Bilbo continued and Legolas turned to stare at the door, already acknowledging the memories the rarely used quilt brought about.

The ‘family quilt’ was made during Legolas’s first year within Bilbo’s home. He had showed her, by touch, how to make the quilt squares and, later, had shown her a ‘cheat’ way to make a padded quilt.

All of the materials were vibrant in color, maddening in some ways and soothing in others.

There were also a feast for the sense of touch, each different color of cloth a different texture as well and Frodo had helped them as they worked.

Well, helped in that he gave them cloth to use.

And when it was done, twice as long as Legolas was tall (with the same measurement for the width), Bilbo had called it the family quilt.

It had been the first time in her life that she had felt unconditionally accepted.

The memories, as bright and vivid as the colors used in the quilt got Legolas moving, opening the door for the three dogs and Bilbo.

Bilbo, who had a bag over his shoulder and a tea tray in his hands, smiling up in her direction, waiting for her.

Legolas stepped out of the way.

“I could use that,” she whispered and Bilbo nodded as he stepped in.

The dogs followed shortly after once Legolas called for them to come.

*~*~*

Legolas spent the rest of her evening curled up in Bilbo’s comforting hug, clinging to his waistcoat, her face buried against his shoulder, tea forgotten on the tray that sat on the table in the middle of the room, the dogs curled up next to them under the quilt.

It was far more healing than anything Legolas could have gotten on her own and she was never more thankful for Bilbo than she was in this moment.

And if she fell asleep like that, well…

At least she knew she trusted Bilbo enough to know he’d keep her safe, like the father she had never had.


	13. Saturday

Saturday dawned bright and early for Kíli, who practically bounced out of bed with eagerness usually attributed to puppies and he set about getting ready for a job interview with Bilbo, shoving feet into shoes as he finished buttoning up his dress shirt.

Once done, he pulled his nicest jeans over the dress shirt, making sure none of it was sticking out or anything like that and then he was hopping down the steps, the morning news practically curling through the air.

_"And in local news today, Marion Smith, owner and CEO of Smith Tech has announced a private scholarship program for orphans..."_

"Morning Mama!" Kíli chirped out, ignoring the droning anchor, even as the picture of a handsome older man, probably around Uncle Thorin's age, was plastered across the screen.

"Morning Kíli. You're up early," she returned, turning down the volume before she focused on Kíli, who was working on making himself scrambled eggs and toast, the only things he couldn't burn.

"Well, yeah. Mr. Baggins, the owner of Bag-End bookshop, he invited me for a job interview. He needs someone to pick up the weekends, since the only people who work the whole week for him are Legolas and Boromir, and Legolas had to take this weekend off. Pippin volunteers, but he, Merry, Frodo  _and_ Sam are all going with Merry's parents to the lake or something. He only invited me after asking if I had one of those student worker permits, which I do from when I worked that summer job and it is still valid. Anyway, he asked and I said yes, I’d come in for an interview. There’s another part-time worker, but I am not sure who it is, and Aragorn is doing…something. I think Mr. Baggins fired someone recently, so he’s exceptionally short-staffed,” Kíli explained as quotes popped up on the TV screen, drawing Kíli’s attention, though he quickly looked back at his mother.

“He’s the one you ran to, isn’t he?” she asked.

“Yeah. He’s a good listener,” Kíli answered as he smashed his scrambled eggs onto his buttered toast, turning it into a sandwhich.

“Gotta run now Mama. Love you, bye,” Kíli added, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek, grabbing a soda, and then he was out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

*~*~*

Kíli bounced excitedly as he waited for Bilbo to show up, turning when he heard someone walking his way and grinned as he saw Bilbo, Myrtle in a harness, walking up the sidewalk. “Moring Bilbo!” he called.

“Morning Kíli! Ready for your interview?” Bilbo answered as he worked on getting the door open.

“Yes, sir!” Kíli responded happily and followed Bilbo in once the door was open, lights being flicked on as Bilbo passed the switches.

“Good,” Bilbo answered.

*~*~*

**Kíli 09:48 am**

_Got the job. Be off at 4. Lunch at 12:30_.

*~*~*

Fíli sighed as his mother parked the car. “I have things to do. Kíli is inside. You two can walk home together,” she stated.

“I wanted to stay home,” Fíli muttered.

“Well, your doctor says you’re supposed to move around in social environments _with_ your cane! Kíli’s work is a social environment and you have your cane. When you get out of the car, the door will be straight in front of you by what looks to be nine or ten steps. Use your cane like the doctor taught you and you shouldn’t crash face first into it,” she retorted.

“Why are you being like this?” Fíli demanded.

“Because you aren’t trying and if I have to be tough to make you try, then so be it. Your life isn’t over because you went blind! Out you go,” she stated and Fíli sighed before he unfolded his cane and got out.

He slammed the door and shifted his grip until he was making his way forward with slow, hesitant, steps, despising it every step of the way.

Why was his mother making him do this?

It was horrifying and he grit his teeth when he felt the cane bump against something after _twelve_ steps.

He reached forward and felt his fingers touch cool metal before he was pushing his way inside, grunting when his shoulder connected with the other metal door. “Fíli!” Dori’s voice exclaimed and Fíli jumped at the unexpected voice, though he heard Dori noticeably approaching.

“Kíli didn’t say that you were coming! He just got off of a break, but come here, sit,” Dori stated, touching Fíli’s shoulder with a word of warning before he wrapped Fíli’s arm around his elbow.

“Your mother kicked you out of the house did she?” Dori asked.

“Sounds about right,” Fíli muttered and Dori chuckled.

“Ah, well, she does that. She threw Frerin out once,” Dori mused and there was that sad silence that stretched after the mention.

Frerin Durin had disappeared.

He turned 18, and just dropped off the map. No one could say where he went or anything and Uncle Thorin, through sheer determination, refused to have him declared dead.

That was the story Fíli had been told at least, and bringing up Frerin always ended in silence stretching through the world, leading credence to the story.

The sound of a chair scrapping eased Fíli out of his thoughts and he was surprised when Dori placed one of Fíli’s hands on the back of the chair, allowing him to find his seat without any embarrassment, while Dori talked.

Fíli then heard the soft click of a dog walking across wood and a new voice, vaguely familiar, called, “Dori, who are you talking to?”

“Ah, Bilbo! This is Fíli, Kíli’s brother,” Dori introduced.

“Pleasure,” Fíli greeted.

“Like wise. May I join you?” Bilbo inquired and Fíli nodded.

“He nodded. And with you here, I can leave you two to it,” Dori stated and there was a soft scrape of the chair across wood, and then the sound of someone sitting, exhaling slightly at the action as well.

“Well, this shall be fun. Remember that I am as blind as you and I think this conversation will flow rather nicely,” Bilbo stated.

“You’re blind?” Fíli asked incredulously.

“Yes. Didn’t Kíli tell you?” Bilbo answered and before Fíli could respond, there was Kíli’s excited shout of, “Fíli!”

There were footsteps, and then Kíli was touching his arm. “I see you met Bilbo. Have you met Myrtle? She’s Bilbo’s Seeing-Eye dog,” Kíli explained cheerfully, even as he sat down and Fíli shifted his hand so he could hold onto Kíli’s wrist.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Mr. Baggins?” Fíli asked, but Kíli just chuckled.

“What about Bilbo? Oh, oh, Fíli, Gimli works here! This is where our dear cousin works on weekends!” Kíli chattered excitedly, using his connection to Fíli to shake him and Fíli felt himself smile in response.

“Is there anyone in your family I _don’t_ know at this point Kíli?” Bilbo questioned, and Kíli’s response of, “Mother and our missing uncle, I think,” was far more telling to Fíli than anything else.

But then Kíli was patting his hand and extracting himself with an apology and an explanation about book sorting and Kíli was gone.

“He seems happy,” Fíli stated.

“I think he is. And if you ever want to talk, with me that is, Kíli has my number. I’m available to talk to anytime,” Bilbo stated and then there was a soft scrape, followed by a dog’s low grumbling sound, and there was the sound of them walking away.

And Fíli was left wondering what had just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know how to feel about Dis in this, but at the same time, I do like her being all 'tough mama bird' on her eldest son.
> 
> She stayed, though Fili didn't know that, till Fili was safe inside with the knowledge that those she could trust would make sure her son was safe, while also basically shoving him out of the nest because he's being a self-pitying lump of muscle that is refusing to help himself and she's tired of it, so she's going to shove until her son has regained his inner fire.
> 
> Tough love. Sometimes it is needed.


	14. Fun Timeskip (No, not really; Chapter Has Mention of Abusive Boyfriends...and Girlfriend)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abuse mentioned

Bilbo smiled as he heard the shouts of, "Fíli," bouncing through the store and he shook his head slightly before continuing to reorder the braille books so he could put some of the new releases up.

According to Kíli, Fíli had stopped being such a vicious sort since meeting Bilbo, though he still had his fits of temper when something didn't happen the way he wanted or he felt it was going too slow. Considering Bilbo's own past history of having a short temper (though his fuse had greatly lengthened since), he could understand where he was coming from.

Having only been fully blind since his teens, ironically after an experimental surgery that was supposed to  _fix_ his eyesight so he wasn't legally blind anymore, Bilbo had been quite angry. He'd been angry for other reasons too and once he had calmed down (therapy) and reprioritized his life (more therapy), he made poor choices in boyfriends (and one girlfriend) and then swore off dating all together.

While most of his nightmares centered on Wyatt (or...well, the one Bilbo couldn't even think about), there had been others who had only cut at his temper until it had been frighteningly short.

At times, he wondered why they had stuck with him, even on his worst days, but he never shared those thoughts with them, and instead stuck to his commitment of not dating, ever.

Until Dori and the friend that could not be mentioned because he never _called_ and thus was on Bilbo’s Gray List (along with Gandalf, the batty old man) decided to set him up on dates.

Usually with people that met their approval ahead of time, but rarely worked out.

Bofur, though a sweet and wonderful man, who made Bilbo feel warm and loved, ended up being a better friend than lover, to think on it.

Bilbo sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, pausing in the reordering of the braille books.

He was not going to be thinking about failed relationships, as that made him think about Thorin Durin and why had he started on that train of thought to begi…

“Mister Baggins, are you back here?” Fíli called and Bilbo nearly smacked himself in the forehead.

Fíli.

Of course.

Thorin’s nephew.

Thus his latent desire to date the man whose voice rumbled like thunder and…

“Yes, at the back shelf Fíli,” Bilbo answered, shaking himself free of his thought process, and he heard the soft sound of a cane being done in half-circles and tiny bumps whenever Fíli’s cane hit a bookshelf.

“Forward to the end of the bookshelf your next to and I’m right here,” Bilbo called and Fíli’s confident filled steps moved forward, stopping when he reached the end of the bookshelf.

It took a few tries to stand next to the college teen, but Bilbo smiled up in his direction. “What is it Fíli?” he asked.

“I just wanted to say…thank you. For helping Kíli,” he stated.

“You’re welcome,” Bilbo answered.

He gently touched Fíli’s arm and apologized when Fíli jumped and Bilbo sighed. “May I say something?” he inquired.

“Yes,” Fíli answered.

“If you _ever_ find your life irrevocably changed and are forced to readjust your entire perspective, don’t you _dare_ give up before you try again! _Especially_ as you don’t only hurt _yourself_ , you hurt those you love as well, and who love you,” Bilbo stated, calm and focused as he always did when people came to him hurting and angry.

“And what would you know about it?” Fíli snapped, his old rage burning through his voice like a wildfire.

“I wasn’t always completely blind, you know. I used to be legally blind. I’d still get lost, because I only saw shapes and bright colors, but the world wasn’t just nothingness. I went in for surgery because I had a chance to see the world like everyone around me did and when I woke up I couldn’t see anything. So, I don’t know something about, because I went in with the knowledge that it was a slight possibility and woke up to discover I was in that 5%. I never considered that. If I had, I would have said no,” Bilbo responded and Fíli was oddly silent.

In fact, if it weren’t for the heat coming off of Fíli, Bilbo would think that Fíli had left.

“I’m sorry,” Fíli offered softly.

“It is quite all right. It isn’t like many know. In fact, only one knows the full story, and he’s on my Gray List, with Gandalf, though higher as his name is not to be spoken,” Bilbo stated and he focused on returning to the books that needed reshelving.

“How…how did you stop being so angry?” Fíli asked.

“I went to a therapist. And…the therapist helped quite a bit. Fin helped with that, really. He refused to leave me alone,” Bilbo answered calmly as he found where he left off and continued.

“So…go to the therapist is your advice?” Fíli asked with resignation touching every word.

“Yes. It helps, to talk to someone who can actually give advice,” Bilbo explained.

“Can’t you be my therapist? You actually have an inkling what I am going through,” Fíli grumbled.

“Well, if you would prefer me, I’ll give out free advice. My phone is always open, you know that. You’ll do fine, either way,” Bilbo answered with a shrug as he moved over one shelf to shift a book back into its place.

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you’ve stopped running from the monster that is your blindness and turned to face it like a warrior.”

*~*~*

Bilbo sighed as he heard ‘Shave and a Haircut’ on his office door a month after first talking with Fíli and paused the reading of the books in stock to call, “Come in!”

He was tired because Fíli had taken up his offer, to which Bilbo was quite thankful, and called Bilbo whenever he felt the need.

Even if it was at midnight.

The door opened and Bilbo turned to face it, wondering who was bothering him. “Bilbo, Fíli and Kíli’s uncle is here,” Boromir stated and Bilbo started, standing up slightly in surprise.

“Mr. Durin? But…what…why?” Bilbo asked, Myrtle shifting on her bed in the corner in response to his obvious distress.

“I don’t know, but he is asking for you,” Boromir answered and Bilbo huffed, even as he walked through the break room.

_“…Scholarship has just sent its first underprivileged teen overseas to fulfill their college dream…”_

Bilbo barely listened, even as he slipped out, nearly walking straight into the doorway and he walked out with a smile. “Mr. Thorin Durin?” he offered and he heard a shift, followed by a, “Mister Baggins.”

“Mr. Durin, how good of you to return. How may I help you?” Bilbo asked, even as Myrtle nosed her way till her shoulder was under his hand.

“Mr. Baggins,” Thorin began, only for Bilbo to interrupt him with a soft, “Bilbo, please.”

“Bilbo, I have come to thank you for how you’ve helped my nephews. Fíli is almost himself again and Kíli is much better than he was before the accident, though still himself,” Thorin stated and Bilbo smiled.

“I am glad I was of some help then,” Bilbo answered trying to find Thorin.

He wasn’t directly in front of him and Bilbo had the distinct feeling he wasn’t actually looking at Thorin, but he let it slide.

“More than some. I did not think I would ever see Fíli smile again. He’s talking about writing a book,” Thorin answered.

“Oh?” Bilbo asked.

“Yes, about a brave blind warrior who goes to face a monster of some sort. He’s thinking of it being a dragon, but Kíli complained about that being overused,” Thorin answered with a low chuckle and Bilbo bit back his own laugh-groan over his words being turned like that.

He _was_ glad, however, that Fíli was adjusting.

Silence fell and Bilbo shifted nervously, his hand tightening briefly in Myrtle’s hair before he released with an apologetic noise, though Myrtle didn’t twitch. “You know, most people I know look at me when I am talking to them,” Thorin stated and Bilbo shifted uncomfortably, even as Thorin continued, “In fact, the only one I know who doesn’t look at me is Fíli.”

There was another stretch of silence and then a voice, flat, yet rumbling and powerful enough to have Bilbo’s toes curl in his shoes, said, “You’re blind.”

Bilbo couldn’t have stopped his laughter if he tried.


	15. Dinner Invitation (Interlude)

Thorin frowned as Bilbo burst out into laughter and resisted the urge to snap at the blind man, though just barely.

"What is so funny?" he bit out and Bilbo choked on his laugh even as he straightened, a hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his mirth.

It didn't work.

"I'm sorry," he sputtered out before he let out a very ungainly snort as he tried to stop his laughter.

He only ended up gasping for breath to the point Thorin was actually concerned, briefly, about the other man’s health, only to watch as Bilbo wrestled himself back under control. “I’m so sorry about that. It is just…your nephews said the exact same thing in practically the exact same tone,” Bilbo explained, his voice strained and fraying around the edges.

Thorin raised an eyebrow. “They did?” he inquired.

“Oh yes. Both of them. Kíli was more like you than Fíli was, but still. All three of you seem to be quite fond of stating the obvious,” Bilbo stated as he leaned against the counter.

The soft sounds of murmurings from the café were a sharp contrast to Bilbo’s echoing laughter not even a minute ago and Thorin frowned. “It was not obvious,” Thorin protested.

“Why, because I could walk around in a place I know almost as well as my own home with nary a stumble? That’s just knowledge and time. Other than that, I never tired to hide it,” Bilbo retorted.

“You never made mention of it either,” Thorin retorted.

“I don’t make the habit of wearing a sign proclaiming, ‘I am blind,’ you’re right. But it shouldn’t be such a shock. Blind people are perfectly capable of functioning within society _without_ someone about to hold our hand! It just takes a few shoves, is all. Coddling is what stunts anyone,” Bilbo responded and Thorin let out a long sigh.

“That’s not what I meant,” Thorin growled out and Bilbo seemed to be trying to pin him with a vicious stare.

It fell short, considering that Bilbo couldn’t focus on him so that he could glare.

“I…I came to invite you to dinner at our house on my sister’s behalf. She wants to thank you properly with a Durin Family Meal. I am not sure where the _thanking_ comes in on that, but Fíli has been surprisingly talkative about you while Kíli has been almost possessively silent,” Thorin explained and Bilbo twitched at that before he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Oh. Well…sorry for my snippyness as well, Mr. Durin. It was inexcusable. I’m afraid, despite how I may carry myself, I still have some insecurities regarding my own…blindness,” Bilbo answered as the bell rang.

“It is all right, Mister Baggins. About dinner…” Thorin began.

“I would just need a date. Someone would have to drive me, however,” Bilbo stated.

“I could. Saturday good for you?” Thorin responded.

“Perfectly fine, Mr. Durin. It will be good to put a voice to the description,” Bilbo answered and Thorin nodded before he bid a hasty good-bye and ran out the front door, nearly crashing into a golden haired man, hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail, wearing an ill-fitting suit.

“Sorry,” Thorin apologized.

“Not a problem,” the man answered, even as he practically _skipped_ into the bookshop.

Thorin shook his head, even as he hurried to his car.

Now all he had to do was call Dís and beg her to make a Durin Family Meal this Saturday, followed by an explanation of _why_ that happened when Dís had just asked Thorin to discover what his favorite pastry was.

“She’s never going to let me live this down,” Thorin muttered, even as he dreaded Dwalin’s reaction when Thorin got around to telling the other man.

Eventually.

Before he couldn’t avoid it, at the very least.

Thorin groaned, even as he drove back to work.

“Curse nosy friends,” he grumbled as he took to the street.


	16. Return of a Friend

Bilbo was preparing to return to his office when an excited, familiar, voice shouted, "Bilbo!"

"No," Bilbo retorted, even as he felt a familiar, comforting, long-limbed body crash into his and a familiar nose nuzzle into his hair.

"Aww, Bilbo," he whined and Bilbo huffed, even as he felt the Gray Listed Friend continue to wrap himself Bilbo.

Arms were loose, giving allowance for Bilbo to move, and there were obvious gaps where said friend was obviously avoiding Myrtle. He felt said familiar nose nudge along his scalp and Bilbo huffed before he easily shoved the form away. "No, Glorfindel! I shall not forgive you this time! You haven't called in almost a year! You even missed Christmas! No! No forgiveness at a drop of a hat this time!" Bilbo retorted, crossing his arms as he glared in Glorfindel’s direction.

He didn’t even twitch when cool finger tips touched under his chin and turned his head slightly. “Ah, there is the full force of the Baggins glare! And I couldn’t! There were…things!” Glorfindel protested and Bilbo huffed before he waved his hand in Glorfindel’s direction.

“No excuse! You haven’t called in a _year_!” Bilbo argued and Glorfindel let out a low whine.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called! I just…I got busy and then suddenly a year had gone by! I’m here now!” Glorfindel explained and Bilbo huffed softly.

He glared a bit more and then sighed. He held his arms out and Glorfindel laughed before he lifted Bilbo up in a hug, holding him tight. “Dinner tonight?” Glorfindel asked as he carefully settled Bilbo back, exactly, where he stood before.

“Oh, fine. Frodo won’t you let you off the hook so easily. And we might possibly have…guests. And Legolas, of course, unless she’s going on a date. I know she was talking about one the other day,” Bilbo answered as he began to sort himself slightly, before he worked on settling his hand on Myrtle’s shoulders.

Glorfindel laughed and he made a non-committal, confirming, noise. “Anybody else?” Glorfindel asked.

“Oh, I am sure the whole motley crew will show up. Good thing I like to cook,” Bilbo responded cheerfully.

“Yeah. You good to work?” Glorfindel asked.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be? Now, shoo. I have work to get done,” Bilbo stated.

“If you’re sure…I’m gonna go bug Dori, ‘kay? Oh, also, um…my sister might contact you. She, probably, knows I’m here,” Glorfindel and Bilbo frowned, making a sharp noise.

“You staying in a hotel?” Bilbo asked.

“Um…maybe?” Glorfindel questioned and Bilbo huffed.

“Enough of that. I’ve got room for you. Your room is the same as ever,” Bilbo answered and then headed to the back room.

The TV had gone to some irritating show Bilbo despised, so he turned off the TV before he headed into his office. If he hurried, he could hurry to Dori’s teashop and the three of them could chat about…

He felt his face heat up and he groaned, covering his face.

In his irritation (and excitement) over Glorfindel reentering his life, he had completely forgotten about Thorin’s sister’s dinner invitation.

Glorfindel was going to be _staying_ with him.

Glorfindel was going to _be there_ when Thorin came to pick him up.

“Eru strike me down now,” he groaned as he huddled in his chair before his desk, trying to exit his minor freak out going in his brain.

(He was not very successful.)

*~*~*

“So, who is he, what is he like, spill, spill, spill!” Glorfindel stated, shaking Frodo’s arm and the teen glared at the blond man.

“No. If Uncle Bilbo hasn’t told you, then I shall not either Glorfindel,” Frodo retorted as he focused back on his canvas.

Glorfindel didn’t shake him this time, but he did start whining, and possibly pouting. “Frodo, after all we’ve been through, after all the diapers I changed and the times we’ve talked, I’m _Glorfindel_? Not Uncle Glorfy? What has happened? Have you grown old while I have been away?” Glorfindel bemoaned and Frodo shot him a _look_.

Glorfindel immediately scrunched down like a scolded puppy. “You didn’t call. For a _year_. I am sure the only reason Uncle Bilbo didn’t think you were _dead_ is because he’s the emergency contact for _everything_ for _all of us_! He was scared and worried for you and you didn’t call. So, till such time I deem you worthy of being called ‘Uncle Glorfy’ once more, you shall be ‘Glorfindel,’” Frodo responded sharply before he returned to his canvas, the charcoal lines darker than they were before the conversation started.

Ah well, the mansion would just be eerier. Better for Halloween then Thanksgiving, but oh well.

“I didn’t mean to,” Glorfindel stated.

“Doesn’t change the fact you did,” Frodo retorted and Glorfindel sighed before he shifted and began to look through paintings.

“Has um…has Bilbo been acting more…jittery lately? Reacted badly to anything on the news?” Glorfindel asked suddenly and Frodo sighed as he set aside his charcoal to give Glorfindel a look.

“He…he hasn’t really been watching the ‘news-news.’ He’s mostly been watching the Weather Channel. Why?” Frodo asked and Glorfindel frowned at that.

Dressed in another one of his ill-fitting suits, no one would guess he was actually the closest thing to a spy their country had without actually being a spy.

Frodo thought he was one of those ‘preventative’ people, who ripped to shreds illegal things while they were still in their weak stages while prowling around those that were mighty oaks.

The analogy didn’t make sense, but it was a beautiful painting series idea.

He would have to set aside this and start that now, and so Frodo turned away to do just that while he spoke again. “Has something happened?” Frodo asked.

“You could…you could say that. Where is your Uncle anyway? He’s usually puttering around this time on a Saturday,” Glorfindel asked.

Frodo hummed softly, but didn’t answer as he began to paint the background. “I’m going to ask Legolas,” Glorfindel stated.

“She won’t tell you anything,” Frodo stated as Glorfindel ran out.

Instead, he set his brush aside and picked up the cell, dialing Uncle Bilbo’s cell before he lifted it to his ear.

After the third ring, it was picked up. _“Hello Frodo,”_ Uncle Bilbo greeted.

“Hello. You have five minutes,” Frodo answered as he lifted the brush with his bad hand and began to continue working on his newest painting.

 _“Drat. He’s still not here, and if Glorfindel…”_ Bilbo responded calmly and Frodo hummed in agreement.

“Well, that’s the best I can do,” Frodo responded.

 _“I know Frodo my boy. Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to you after dinner with the Durin Clan,”_ Uncle Bilbo answered.

Before Frodo could answer, there was a muffled and distant, yet familiar, voice that asked, _“Who’s the Durin Clan?”_

Uncle Bilbo groaned and said his ‘good-byes’ and got one in return before hanging up.

And Frodo chuckled even as he focused on his painting.

*~*~*

As predicted, Dís had laughed at Thorin before agreeing to do the dinner. And while Thorin had found his way fine the first time, he found the second time, he got lost.

Twice.

He blamed his nervousness, not his lack of directions.

But when he pulled up, the blond in the ill-fitting suit and messy, high, ponytail was standing next to Bilbo. Bilbo who had Myrtle in full out Guide Dog regalia and was looking _very_ put out.

Thorin slowly stepped out and greeted Bilbo warmly.

“I’m so sorry Thorin. I tried, I really did, but Glorfindel’s impossible,” Bilbo stated and Glorfindel snorted before he shot Bilbo a look.

“Yes, the…” Glorfindel began to snap, only to be interrupted, harshly, by Bilbo hissing out, “Don’t you dare!”

Thorin watched the exchange and Glorfindel sniffed before he strode forward. “I’m Glorfindel Forsythia. I’ve been Bilbo’s friend since we were in high school and as such I would like to know what your intentions are towards him,” Glorfindel stated.

“I told you! I helped his nephew out! End of discussion!” Bilbo hissed and Glorfindel merely huffed at that.

“It is just a dinner my sister made in thanks for helping out my nephew and her son, Fíli,” Thorin answered.

“You did not answer the question, Mister Durin,” Glorfindel returned.

Thorin resisted the urge to grit his teeth and answered, “I just wish to take him to dinner.”

“See? Now, go inside and heat up the food I cooked yesterday in the microwave! Don’t touch the stove! I don’t want to have to refurbish the kitchen, again, because you set it on fire, again,” Bilbo demanded and Glorfindel huffed before he turned to Bilbo, resting his hands on Bilbo’s shoulders.

“You have my number. You need a getaway, I am a call away,” Glorfindel stated.

“You do realize he’s Dori’s cousin-in-law right?” Bilbo asked.

“Now I do. Have fun!” Glorfindel greeted and Bilbo glared after him as he walked away before focusing towards Thorin once more.

“Over protective boyfriend?” Thorin asked.

“Ah, no no. Single as the sun. Which, of course, means I have nine ‘children’ running about under foot, and Glorfindel happens to be one of them. He’s Pluto, specifically,” Bilbo responded and Thorin chuckled as his face flushed.

“Ready to go?” Thorin asked.

“Oh, yes, just…need to find the car,” Bilbo answered with a laugh and Thorin nodded.

“I think it is about…fifteen of your steps to me,” Thorin stated and Bilbo nodded, before grasping the harness and giving Myrtle a few commands.

Soon they were settled in the car and Thorin began to drive, Myrtle lying quietly at Bilbo’s feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue what was happening with this.
> 
> Sorry?


	17. Dinner and Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize in advanced for Bilbo's rant in this chapter as this is based off of my frustration with the dogs usually seen as guide dogs. It is also the reason this chapter took so long.
> 
> It would not leave and as such, I hope you still enjoy this chapter, despite the rant.
> 
> Thank you.

"You know, I forgot to ask if your sister would be all right with Myrtle. As a Poodle, people generally are; low shedding, if any at all, helps with that, but I just realized I never asked. Usually I just bring my cane when I will be going to a new place," Bilbo stated as he got out of the car, Thorin resisting the urge to help Bilbo down in any way.

Mostly because he didn't seem to need it, but also because he remembered all of the advice Fíli's doctor had given them. "Dís loves dogs. She'll probably want to sneak her pieces of food from the table,” Thorin stated and Bilbo laughed a bit as he carefully shut the door.

“Myrtle won’t accept. She’s been trained away from people food,” Bilbo answered with a smile as he adjusted his grip on the harness.

Thorin chuckled lowly as they began to head up the walkway. “She’ll be disappointed, but if that’s how Myrtle has been trained, she’ll understand. Will Myrtle be all right without dinner?” Thorin asked.

“She already ate. Legolas had feeding duty today, to help her keep in an alpha position over the dogs,” Bilbo explained as they walked up to the front steps.

“Two steps,” Thorin warned as they headed to the front door and Bilbo thanked him quietly as Thorin began to work the key into the lock.

The front door opened soundlessly, for once, and Thorin smiled a bit. It seemed Fíli had actually gotten around to oiling the hinges and Thorin stepped up. “There is a half-step up into the house,” Thorin warned and Bilbo gave thanks, though he almost stumbled a bit when he stepped up too high.

“Ah. Truly half-step then,” Bilbo murmured with a tiny laugh, even as he stepped into the front hall, carefully shutting the door behind him.

“Coat pegs on the wall four steps forward on the right, and a shoe rack right below. Dís can be surprisingly fastidious when she wishes to be,” Thorin explained as he began to remove his own shoes to slip them into the family shoe rack that was next to the guest one.

Bilbo nodded and immediately began to remove his shoes, carefully placing them on the guest one, before he took off his coat and hung it up on the end peg. “Thorin, is that you with our guest?” Dís shouted.

Thorin sighed and answered, “Yes.”

Bilbo chuckled a bit when there a sound akin to elephants stampeding could be heard overhead, followed by Kíli’s excited shout of “Bilbo!”

There was more sounds like a herd of elephants, what could be Kíli half slipping, half collapsing, down the stairs and he was there. “Bilbo!” he exclaimed, practically shoving past Thorin to reach Bilbo, touching his arm before he pulled the smaller man into a hug.

There was a slight exclamation, a soft laugh, and Bilbo hugged him back with one arm, even as a more sedate stampeding elephant that was using a cane to help keep him from bumping into anything. “Hello Uncle,” Fíli greeted before he joined in the hugging, once he found Kíli.

“I don’t get greeted that happily,” Thorin commented after a few minutes of his nephews just hugging Bilbo, an amused smile dancing across his face.

Said smile disappeared when Kíli grinned unapologetically back at Thorin. “Well, you are usually around every day for dinner. Bilbo isn’t,” Kíli explained, even as Bilbo began to push slightly at them.

“Yes, yes, lovely to hear you both too, now off,” Bilbo ordered and Kíli laughed before he released Bilbo, only to drop down in front of Myrtle, who didn’t even twitch.

“Hey girl! Pretty precious girl! Bilbo, can I go play with Myrtle?” Kíli asked as he stood back up again, bouncing while Fíli stood calmly next to Bilbo, his elbow touching Bilbo’s upper arm.

“Oh, fine. I am sure Fíli can give me a tour,” Bilbo answered, relinquishing the harness to Kíli, who happily cheered.

Only then did he calm and give the commands to have Myrtle walk towards the living room, leaving Bilbo and Fíli in the front hall with Thorin. “He’s been counting the days,” Fíli explained.

“I can tell. Well…tour?” Bilbo asked and Fíli laughed, even as Bilbo carefully shifted so he could hold onto Fíli’s upper left arm.

“Yeah. It is thirty steps to the couch. From there, we can find everything,” Fíli stated and Thorin stepped out of the way as the pair headed off, already chatting.

“Kíli said something about a book?” Bilbo began as they walked and Fíli laughed, even as he adjusted for leading someone else through the house, his cane moving in a half circle before his feet.

Thorin, after some thought, followed after them, mostly due to the fact that he had to go to the kitchen. And while he knew he should probably give the tour, since Fíli still crashed into things, Thorin didn’t even attempt to take over.

Instead, he happily watched as, for the first time since the accident, Fíli was, of his own initiative, being proactive in his life again.

*~*~*

“Mother?” Fíli called and Dís turned to find Fíli, with his cane in hand, leading who could only be their guest.

“This must be Bilbo Baggins,” Dís greeted and Fíli nodded brightly.

“Yes. Bilbo, my mother, Dís. Mother, Bilbo,” Fíli introduced and Dís wiped off her hands before she walked over, hand out stretched, but missing Bilbo’s.

“Pleasure to meet you Ms. Chester-Durin,” Bilbo responded and Dís carefully took his hand in her own, shaking it firmly.

“Pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Baggins. Would you like anything to drink?” she inquired as she carefully released Bilbo’s hand.

“Brother dear, are you physically capable of setting out plates or has the house eaten you? And where is Kíli?” Dís stated as she focused back on dinner.

“Kíli is playing with Myrtle, my guide dog. I had meant to ask, but I haven’t been over to anyone’s home in so long I forgot to ask. I am sorry for my rudeness in that,” Bilbo explained.

“Oh? What kind of dog is she?” Dís questioned.

“A Standard Poodle. She was a gift from a friend of my mother’s friend after I began to talk about retiring my previous dog, Minty, who is a German Shepherd,” Bilbo answered warmly, even as Dís nodded slightly.

Before she could say anything however, the buzzer went off, and she sighed. “And that is the signal that dinner is ready. I better get the boy. And the husband. Bilbo, you have the seat across from Fíli, which is the…upper right corner of the table. I’m sorry, I’m bad with directions, isn’t that right Fíli?” Dís questioned.

“It is true. She swaps right and left. Don’t worry though, Uncle Thorin will be _more_ than happy to help you find your seat,” Fíli stated and Dís frowned after them, wondering what had prompted Fíli to emphasize as he had.

*~*~*

“I’ve never seen a Poodle as a guide dog before,” Darin commented as Kíli settled Myrtle at Bilbo’s free side, which happened to be near Darin, though she didn’t lay down until Bilbo gave the quiet command.

“They aren’t common. I’ve had to double check multiple times that she’s happy with it, since dogs will often do things they are miserable with because they love their people, but she seems happy with the work, and she does it well,” Bilbo answered gently, even as he began to slowly spin noodles around his fork.

“What do you mean?” Darin asked, even as Kíli shot Darin an indecipherable look and Bilbo ate his bite of food before he began to spin around another bite with practiced ease.

“Well, Poodles are hunting dogs. They aren’t bred to maneuver someone around in the world, or…herd them, as it were. However, Poodles are an odd sort of dog, being the second smartest, and may have had some guiding in them, but their instinct is still hunting, for the most part. Like Labradors and Golden Retrievers are retrieval dogs. Those three breeds aren’t bred to guide people around and I think it takes a certain type of misinformed cruelty to put dogs through something that they don’t instinctively go for. Because they love the people training them, however, they do it, but they are in perfect misery. There are a few odd ducks, who for some reason love herding people around, but there is a reason the original guide dogs for the blind were German Shepherds. For one, they are a smarter breed on a whole, though for if people decide to ignore their original purpose for much longer, I can’t guarantee that will remain. They are also herding dogs however and guiding someone who is blind is essentially herding someone, so it is my personal opinion that dogs with herding instinct might be the best for the job. This probably wouldn’t be such a problem if people weren’t so inclined to have a friendly looking dog guiding them about instead of one that will be the best at the job they are being trained for,” Bilbo explained and took another bite, ignoring the loud silence that fell over the table.

“You’ve emphasized intelligence a few times, which makes sense, but is there a particular reason?” Darin asked, ignoring the looks he was now getting from the rest of his family.

“Situational disobedience,” Bilbo explained after he finished another bite and prepared the next one.

“What does that mean?” Darin questioned.

“Say there is a ditch in front of me. If I tell Myrtle to go forward, she’ll refuse and may even step in front of me if I ignore her, preventing me from going forward because it is dangerous, going back on that herding instinct. There are times that sheep and cattle herding dogs have refused an order because they see a danger their handler cannot. It is the same in this situation. And if you are considering getting Fíli a guide dog, I suggest making sure that they click first, and that the dog is big enough, as well as making sure that the dog is perfectly sound and whose parents don’t have a history of severe problems, as well as being smarter than the average dog who is able to gage a situation quickly before obeying,” Bilbo answered with a small smile and focused on the food.

Soon talk turned to lighter things, and Darin and Bilbo even seemed to get over whatever odd thing had passed between them to chat amicably about music.

By the time Bilbo left, there was no trace of the border-line animosity that seemed to pass between them at the beginning of dinner, something Thorin was confused over.

When he asked Bilbo, all Bilbo did was shrug a bit, which did nothing to alleviate Thorin's confusion.


End file.
